Imperceptible
by HeelsAsHighAsHopes
Summary: How hard could it be to get two angsty, fictional teens to fall in love? Amiyah thought it would be a piece of cake, at least that's what the British Tyra Banks had implied when she sold her this crazy 'fictional facilitator' pitch. But ever since Amiyah entered the Twilight world things had progressively gone from bad to worse.
1. Prologue

_Children of the future age,_

 _Reading this indignant page,_

 _Know that in a former time,_

 _Love, sweet love, was thought a crime!_

 _\- William Blake, A Little Girl Lost_

This was it. This was how I was going to die. On the hard, arctic forest floor of a town named after a utensil.

In so much pain, my fingernails worn down and bloody from scratching at the ground. My skin burning from the inside out despite the cold temperature.

Blood, my blood staining the white snow on the ground scarlet.

I'd never known pain like I'd felt at that moment, I wanted to scream out for someone, anyone to take it away. But my voice had left me after hours of screaming before.

As I could feel myself drifting off I didn't have my life flash before my eyes like others did just before they died. No, instead my mind was littered with images of the person I was dying for. The love of my life.

The rest of my body was shutting down but my heart sang with the image of their face in my mind.

I had no regrets, I'd lost my sense of hearing minutes ago and all I could see was the muted scene of snowflakes falling almost magically around me.

I had no regrets because I knew that something beautiful came from all my pain. Something that would bring others happiness, and for a short while gave me illimitable bliss.

My vision was fading next so lazily I looked around to catch one last glimpse of my love but instead my eyes locked with his. His which were burning with agony, glistening with tears that would never fall.

I lied. I guess I did have one regret.

But if I were given the chance to relive I wouldn't change one thing.

I was an idiot and I couldn't give a damn, I had saved the life of someone I'd loved and in my books that was worth all the pain I'd endured.

So I smiled weakly one last time, with tears streaming down my dark skin I let nothingness envelope me.

.

 **A/N**

 **-Insert cringe here-**

 **Okay so maybe this chapter sucked. But! It is fundamental to the storyline. Maybe one day when I don't completely blow at writing prologues I will return to it. But for now please just stick through with it. It's gonna get better!**

 **I sincerely hope that you enjoy it. I put quite a lot of effort into this so I'd really appreciate a little bit of feedback.**

 **Thank you soo much 3**


	2. Chapter 1

"Hey Tristan, remember me? I was in your confirmation class last year. We've also been the same classes for about 10 years now, ya 'know give or take. Anyway I just wanted to know if you're doing anything this Friday night. I'm sure you already know that our school is holding a dance and I was thinking maybe you and I, we. Can go together... like... on a date.. I mean we just have so much chemistry already. Remember the time I borrowed you my stapler in 9th grade Spanish and our fingers brushed for the briefest of seconds. Do you remember the sparks that flew then?" I chuckled.

"All those sparks could've ignited a forest fire,am I right? You now what sorry, forest fires aren't cool. Did you know almost 10 bears are killed in forest fires each year, that's pretty unnerving huh? I mean I just love bears so much, and yeah sure they're predators that could very easily kill me without thought but it would be so sad to see one hurt or dying, kinda like Harambe hey? Sorry I ramble when I'm nervous. Ignoring all that. What do you say? Wanna 'blame it on the boogie 'with me at this Friday night?"

I stared intensely at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I don't know if I expected Tristan Fernandes to appear in front of me and accept my absurd invite, or if I stared at my reflection long enough without blinking I would transform into a Victoria's Secret model with a multitude of confidence and absolutely no shred of dorkiness.

Before, like about 10 minutes ago, I was perfectly fine with not going to the corny dance our school was hosting at all, but then a literal sex god walked into the supermarket I worked in, and being the complete loser I am, I ran into the staff bathrooms to avoid any contact between him and I.

After a minute of leaning against the bathroom wall 'I'll make a man out of you' started randomly playing out through the speakers. Now I don't know if Bo had accidentally left the store's radio on the Disney station again, or if God was trying to innervently tell me to stop being such a coward. But the sweet, frustrated voice of a disney warrior caused me to have an epiphany.

If I, Amiyah Walters, wanted to one day become Amiyah Fernandes, then I had to ditch the hope of Tristan one day noticing me either at church or school and declaring his undying love for me, grow a little bit of confidence and make the first move.

And so, motivated by Shang's melodious voice singing to 'Be a man' I got my back off the wall and started practising ways to winsomely ask Tristan to be my partner to the dance.

'Blame it on the boogie' seriously Amiyah you can just paste a sign on your forehead that says 'loser'.

I brushed my bushy eyebrows back with my fingers and grinned at the mirror.

So maybe I don't have my conversational skills to fall back on but if I kept my glasses off and I smiled a little more I'm sure he'd at least consider my invite.

Sure I was no Beyonce (Who was? Besides you know Beyonce), but at least I have my stellar personality.

'The worst he could do is say no'. I thought to myself placing my hands on the cool basin.

But what would I do if he does?

Deciding it was probably time to get back to work before I got fired I placed my glasses back onto my face and very, very slowly walked out the staff toilets and back into the front of the store.

Sliding back behind the counter before my manager, Mark, could notice my absence I tried to slow down my extremely fast beating heart while simultaneously ringing up the items of an impatient old lady who looked as if she'd been waiting in line since the birth of Jesus.

Two equally impatient customers later I was staring up close at the face of Tristan.

He had on a tight fitting white shirt that every guy in California seemed to be wearing these days, but somehow he made it look like a bold fashion statement. Moles scattered across his face beautifully like constellations, his rich bronze hair retaining in it's place with the use of gel and ocean-blue eyes deep enough to swim in.

"Hey Tristan. " I said, hoping my voice didn't come out as shaky as I felt.

"Amiyah... Hey." He replied with an easy smile which unbeknownst to him momentarily stopped my breathing for a solid second.

"I didn't know you worked here." He looked honestly surprised.

"Uh, yeah I've been at Kings for about a year and a half now." I replied as I finished placing his in a paper bag.

Deciding it was probably best go ahead and be 'as swift as the coursing river' I began to ask him.

"Hey Tristan, I was wondering if-"

I was interrupted by a feminine voice calling his name a couple of feet away.

Tristan turned to see who was calling him and up out of nowhere appeared Rachel Hill.

Now if Tristan was by far the hottest guy in town, it'd seem completely logical for him to be dating the hottest girl in town (Although screw stereotypes)

Rachel Hill was Tristan's on again off again girlfriend. She wasn't anything cliché like a cheerleader or a dancer. Instead she was class president (and had been for the past 4 years), captain of the swim team and she was on her way on becoming valedictorian.

"Hey babe, who's this?" She said as she slid in next to Tristan, casually placing her hand on his arm.

"You know, it's Amiyah... she's in one of our classes I think"

Math, English, French, Lunchroom, Gym and Econ. But who's counting.

Rachel looked blankly in response.

"She uh, she goes to our school."

"Still not ringing any bells."

"I think she used to wear braces. Right Amiyah?"

I nodded, mortified. I was ninety-nine percent sure Rachel remembered me. I mean she had to. For three years she'd call me that god awful name-

"Braceface?"

Oh no.

"Oh my gosh yes! You got you braces stuck in Mr Rodriguez sweater that one time!"

"Ha,yeah. Great times." I chuckled uncomfortably.

Was I a serial killer in my past life? Why was I being put through this punishment?

"Did you like, move away for a while? I haven't seen you in years"

Now this should have surprised me, I would have surprised anyone else I'm sure. But I was pretty used to it. I was pretty good at blending in the background, so good that some teachers sometimes even forgot about me.

"Nope, I've been around."

"Huh" she shrugged it off like she was just told an uninteresting fact. "Anyway if you could just ring this up for us, it'd be great."

She placed a blue box on the counter shamelessly.

'Condoms XXL'

Holy-

I was grateful for my dark skin which hid the blood in my face, cause right now I was like an inferno.I didn't dare to look back up in fear I'd catch one of their eye's and spontaneously combust.

I quietly rang up the box and placed it in the bag along with the rest of Tristan's items.

"18,95" I said quietly.

He handed me two tens and told me sweetly to keep the change.

Just as they were about to leave and I was about exhale minutes worth of first degree embarrassment . Tristan turned around, his carefree smile still on his face and Rachel's arm wrapped pretty securely around his waist.

"You wanted to ask me something, didn't you? "

Not anymore, Casanova.

"Oh yeah, uh do you... want to sign up for a Kings membership card?"

:

 **A/N**

 **Please if they are any spelling/ grammatical errors feel free to correct me.😘**

 **I just started my final year of high school (finally) and since I have such an active (ha) social life I will probably update every Friday/Saturday (depending on where you are in the world)**

 **Thank you so much for reading!**


	3. Chapter 2

_"You said that you think about me every day_

 _Saturday to Saturday "_

 _Drake ft PARTYNEXTDOOR - Since Way Back_

I'd gotten home at around 6pm, it was already dark out and I was physically and mentally drained.

I placed my raggedy, old bike in the garage and trudged up the porch to open my front door.

"Mama?" I called out, hoping to find her in the lounge on the couch watching reruns of 'Girlfriends' or something but the room was empty and the tv off.

I rolled my eyes. Figures. She was probably working late, yet again.

My mom and I and have a pretty... strained relationship. We've never been close, not even when I was a child. But I do love her, and I know that she loves me.

She had me when she was in her last year of college. My father a 'good for nothing man who we were both better off without' (at least that is what she'd call him whenever I'd grow the courage to ask her about him) was a few years older than her and apparently had wanted nothing to do with my mom or me after he had found out that she was pregnant.

After giving birth to me my mom finished her degree over a few months, came back to California and took a junior position in a large law firm which after 10 years she managed to become a partner.

She really did inspire me. She was a strong black, single mother who managed to climb to the top without having anything handed to her.

My mother knew what she wanted and she went after it, regardless of the setbacks life had placed with her.

And I guess through all that she'd forgotten to actually raise her daughter.

I didn't want to be bitter. But I already had no father and it would've been nice if one parent had at least tried to raise me. Instead of numerous babysitters and neighbours I can't remember.

Realising that I'd have to provide food for myself I walked into the kitchen to pull out a leftover pizza slice from the fridge.

I munched on it while looking around the empty kitchen.

A soak in the bath sounded really good right about now, maybe I could find myself a new job at the same time.

Finishing up the pizza slice I grabbed the newspaper leaning against a fruit bowl and jogged upstairs.

Preferably one that Aimee and Tristan wouldn't show up at.

Inhaling the 'luxurious scents' of my mom's lavender and chamomile scented foam bath I dipped my foot in the foamy waters of the tub. Sighing at the temperature I slowly submerged the rest of my body in the bath and let my shoulders relax as I leaned my back against the porcelain tub

Ah this feels good. Might as well start up on that job hunting while I'm here.

I picked up the newspaper and started skimming through the classifieds.

The first ad I saw was black and white and looked professional enough.

Busy executive seeks young lady for, personal assistant duties, social engagements, and discrete rendezvous. The less experience the better. Very generous financial incentive will be provided for companionship. Please include a picture and contact information in your reply to expedite the process. Prefer reserved teenager looking for supplemental income.

Well if that didn't scream psychopath, I don't know what did. How was this even allowed to be printed?

The next ad looked less frightening. It was printed in soft magenta tones and it had a light shimmer to its text

Wanted: Imperceptible young man or woman to indulge in the world of published/unpublished books fixing errors and filling omissions. No experience needed.

For inquires call Helga.

The ad sure sounded appealing. Getting paid just to read books and fix some mistakes? Far better than dealing with cranky customers and totally unreliable coworkers.

A number was placed at the bottom and I had half a mind to call Helga for the few inquiries I had. Like what the hell imperceptible meant.

I lay in the bath for a few more minutes daydreaming about the position. I wondered it included a cute little cubicle.

Maybe an attractive co-worker was also part of the package. Someone attractive, yet still professional. Like Nicholas Hoult in Xmen, minus the whole beastly mutant thing. A huge upgrade from Bill, who vaped way too much and didn't shower quite enough.

After getting out of the bath I wrapped myself in a towel and walked back into my bedroom with the newspaper rolled up in my hand, changing into the first pair of clean pajamas I'd found in my hamper.

I sat cross legged on my bed with the newspaper in my one hand and my phone in the other.

Was I being rash? After one bad confrontation I just want to quit a job I'd grown pretty comfortable in?

I mean Kings wasn't so bad. I got staff discounts during Christmas, free, albeit itchy, T-shirts, and a week after valentine's day and Easter we'd get the unsold chocolates and merchandise, mostly the rejects but free shit is free shit.

But, on the plus side there'd be no more awkward encounters with crushes and their girlfriends. No more ugly uniform,

No more filling in for Bill as Santa during the festive season whenever his Grandma was 'sick'. God, no more pretending I don't see Sandra and Frank sneak into the storeroom at lunch to commit adultery and probably 5 other mortal sins.

Hey, like they always say. Change is good.

Thinking of going to Kings tomorrow to resign I quickly called the number before I could chicken out, but after a few rings it went to the automated voice mail.

It's a good thing they didn't answer, tomorrow I'll be more prepared, less impulsive and I'll probably get the chance to Google what imperceptible means.

...

 **I am quite aware that this chapter is actual trash. I am also aware that the Drake song in the beginning has literally no relevance to the chapter.. but bleh.**

 **I'm trying to get the interesting chapters up soon so I'm posting the fillers with pretty much very little editing done to get to them faster. Please bear with me, and review?**

 **Thank you to all those who favorited and followed Imperceptible! :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**_Hey glory child, don't you worry._**

 ** _Stuttering, shaken off your fear. Beauty's never given in a hurry_**

 ** _Warm Winds- SZA featuring Isaiah Rashad_**

I awake with a start. The sudden ringing of my alarm clock jolting me awake from a dream I can't remember.

My eyes still laden with sleep I rub them as I get up to fetch some water from the kitchen.

I couldn't have taken three steps away from my bed when I spotted her.

The Tyra Banks was leaning against my bedroom wall.

She was wearing a grey pant suit and her hair was up in a sleek ponytail. She was looking down scrolling through her phone as if it was normal for her to be in people's rooms at 7 am.

The big, smart part of my brain was telling me to panic. There was an intruder in my room, it didn't matter that said intruder was a supermodel sensation.

Yet, the smaller, less rational part of my brain was freaking out. Tyra Banks was in my bedroom and she looked fierce let me tell you that.

"Tyra?" I ask questioningly, with a hint of excitement.

She immediately looks up from her phone and stares at me.

"Hmm? Oh yes, Tyra Banks. That's right Amaya, I am Tyra, Tyra is me."

I grin at her letting out a little squeal of excitement.

She sounded more british than I thought she would but I just ignore it, she probably came across Madonna syndrome or something.

"What are you doing in my room?"

Although mildly starstruck I still was in the right mindset to address the elephant in the room.

"I'm here to discuss the call you made yesterday. We at Bolton's Backgrounders have accepted your application as temporary facilitator and hereby appoint you as a junior BC."

Application? Facilitator? Junior BC?

"Err.. What?"

Tyra sighs as if it were causing her physical pain just to listen to my questions.

"Last night," she began sounding bored. "You made a call to our offices. You obviously wouldn't have been able to read the advertisement in the first place if you didn't have the qualities we were looking for. Inconspicuous, dorky, socially inept, slightly clairvoyant. "

I ignore the slightly offensive words and perk up at the mention of clairvoyant. "Clairvoyant?"

"Don't get too excited 80 percent of you humans are."

I pouted. "Then if there so many people out there who are clairvoyant why don't you go trespass into their rooms and offer them the job?"

"Look we're desperate, none of our staff want to take on this particular job and it is going to the dumps if we don't take action."

I gave her I look showing her that I had no idea what she was talking about.

She sighed and put her fingers to her temples. "My mother was right, I should have married that Polynesian demi-god." She muttered looking up at me with an annoyed expression.

"Bolton's Backgrounders is a prestigious agency where we grant young, naive girls such as yourself access to some of their favorite books giving them the opportunity to experience life as a background character living in that world while simultaneously making sure that the storyline carries on as it should."

Is she on drugs?

"Oh really?" I smile at her, totally creeped out and slowly reaching for my phone on my bedside table.

I was planning on calling 911 immediately. The police can handle her crazy ass.

The phone flew off the table before my fingers could even grasp at it and I swerve my head to look at the doped up Tyra. Or was it me that was on drugs?

"What was that? I stammer out

"Magic." She says simply.

Was I dreaming? I had to be dreaming. That was it, I binge watched a whole season of Black Mirror last weekend and that usually messed with my grip on reality.

This was just a crazy dream and any minute now I'll wake up.

Wake up Amiyah. Wake. Up.

"I'm just going to cut to the chase here, I've been here for far too long and the longer I'm around humans I begin to itch." She walks closer to me and I try not to flinch away.

"Twilight? I'm sure you've heard of it. Sparkly vampires, lovesick werewolves?" I nod at her slowly.

"We need you to temporarily enter the world and initiate the initial meeting between the two main characters." She drawled out boredly while checking her cuticles.

"Uhm. Pass?"

She looked up from her nails to me like I had just told her I had three heads.

"Pass? This is an opportunity to bring some sort of meaning to your pathetic life, and you pass it?"

Was that an insult? It sounded like an insult.

She clicked her fingers together and my bedroom disappeared, instead of the lavender walls plastered with posters of Harry Styles, Tyra and I were together in a larger room with white walls, cream plush couches and a large, expensive looking wooden desk. Strongly scented sage was burning in a bowl on the desk and streams of sunlight was let into the room by the thinly open blinds.

Hallucinations and dreams aren't scented. This was craziness!

The room started to spin.

Tyra stepped back. "Why are you looking at me like that? You're not going to throw up, are you?Not on these shoes, got it? They haven't even hit stores yet and..."

"Did you just teleport me out of my room?" I spat out shakily.

"Okay firstly, I did not teleport you, this is not Harry Potter. And secondly I needed to get out of that room. It was giving me a headache."

She sat down on her fancy chair behind her fancy desk and pressed a button on a remote filling the room with a cool breeze.

"Well are you going to sit down or continue standing there looking mortified."

I slowly make my way to the desk and sit on the chair opposite Tyra.

"I understand maybe I didn't approach this in the best manner. But our agency has had a shortage of staff over the past few years for.. various reasons and due to the increasing number of new books getting published, more realities are getting created and with the increase in realities there's an increase in fuck ups which we have to fix. It's exhausting, honestly."

I blinked at her.

"Look, not only will you be saving the relationship between two very co-dependant teenagers, but you'll be keeping the hopes up of the billions of teenage girls who too wanted to find their very own Edward Cullen."

I was always team Jacob anyway.

"Let's say I take up your crazy offer, what about my mom? I'm pretty sure she'll eventually notice her daughter's absence." I say, deciding to play along.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that. It'll be like you never even left."

"But-"

She scowled at her watch. "Wow. Look at the time. Is it really that late? I have to make some calls. So are you in or out?"

"I have to decide right now?"

"Oh no take all the time you need. Just know while you you sit here thinking it over people's realities are changing"

"Okay! Okay! I'm in." INsane.

"Good, let's go then."

"Wait, right now? I don't get to change or anything?" I ask, looking down at my pajamas I'd had on since last night.

"Of course right now. Time waits for no one."

"Follow me." She said as she got up and walked to door. Opening it to reveal a small storeroom.

This woman is crazy. I quickly decide.

I get up off the chair and walk up to where she stands.

And I am even more crazy for following her.

As I follow her through the door I see that the 'small' room she had just walked in was bigger than I'd expected.

As we continue walking the room follows on into a considerably long passageway.

We pass by several other doors as I try to catch up to the fast strides of Tyra.

She abruptly stops in front of a door to the left and turns to look at me.

"This is it. Everything you need is in the house; the map of Forks, money,clothes etcetera. Don't tell anybody where you're from . You'll get paid as soon as you successfully complete the job."

"Speaking of payment how much exactly do I get paid?"

"10 000 dollars per completed trip. Now don't screw this up! We'll make it available for you to leave once everything is patched up in Twilight."

10 000... dollars? Minus tax? I figured I'd get paid quite a bit but definitely not $10 000.

She gestured to the door. "Okay well, get in."

Thinking it better for me not to question the lady who was going to pay me, I open the door and walk in seeing nothing but darkness.

I look back and turn to face Tyra, expecting her to follow me in.

"So do I-?"

"Tata." She says as she shoves a backpack in my arms and closes the door in my face leaving me in the dark space.

Who still says Tata? And why the hell is it so dusty in here.

I fumble around the spall space, feeling around for a doorhandle and bumping into various items while doing so.

Finally I find a doorknob and twist it open. It opens to a room filled with light which illuminates the space I was just in, revealing it as a wardrobe. A wardrobe with a lot of clothes.

I walk out of the wardrobe and inspect my surroundings.

I was in a bedroom, but not mine and definitely not the room I was just in with Tyra just a minute ago.

Taped on the wall of the wardrobe is a post it.

On the post it written in black cursive is just three words.

 ** _"Welcome to Forks."_**

* * *

 ** _A/N_**

 ** _Ahh! Thank you soo much for all the follows and favorites! And an extra thank you to_** ** _Haibara2780 for reviewing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Things will start getting interesting in the next chapter, which will hopefully be up by tomorrow._**

 ** _Thank you again!_**


	5. Chapter 4

_Things get dark, but my aura just starts glowing_

 _Drake - Lose You_

The guesthouse was small, two bedrooms, one bathroom a kitchen and a very small living room.

There was no Tv, only a small radio laying on an old coffee table and some lawn chairs as substitute couches.

These facilitators sure spared no expenses when it came to sprucing up this place.

Upstairs the bathroom looked clean enough. The walls, which I'm sure were once a cream white were yellowed due to water stains. Everything else looked usable. The small sink and the mirror that hung above it, the small glass shower and a ceramic toilet.

The two bedrooms adjacent to one another each had clothes in their respective closets, so at least clothing wouldn't be a problem.

They each had one single bed made up with dull blue sheets.

Not really putting much thought into it I chose the room closest to the bathroom.

After I'd finished my little tour of the house I took out everything from the backpack Tyra had shoved at me and laid them on the floor of the living room.

Sitting crossed legged, still clad in my pajamas from home, I meticulously went through the items in the bag.

A calendar of the year 2005 was amongst the items, a map of Forks and a shimmering green credit card holding my name as well as a hard copy of Twilight.

I picked up Twilight and skimmed through the pages of the book.

It looked like Bella really obsessed ov- I mean loved Edward and vice versa so I presumed it wouldn't be too hard to get them together.

Forget the fact that I had virtually no experience in relationships, and my own love life was a complete failure, I was going to get these two teenagers to fall in love if it was the last thing I do.

That night I fell asleep to the harsh sounds of the rain pelting against my window.

I'd somehow forgotten that Twilight was in fact a romance between two teenagers.

Teenagers that went to school.

And so last night when I figured that I'd probably had to go to Forks High the next morning I grudgingly set an alarm on the alarm clock in my bedroom for 6 am.

As it turned out, not only did I sleep through the alarm, probably due to some sort of jet lag or the fact that back home it was summer and I did not have to deal with the torture of waking up at ungodly hours, but I'd also had no way of getting to that wretched place. All that I had found leaning against the house was a pink bicycle that looked like it belonged to Jan Brady back in the 70s

So as I cycled as fast as I could through the cold roads of Forks (which was hard to do in a bulky parka and uggs) I cursed the day I met Tyra and wondered if the 10 grand was really worth all of this.

I'd arrived at Forks High thirty minutes later .

It was a particularly old cluster of buildings. The maroon bricks that surrounded the school walls were weathered and the large 'R' in the 'Forks High School' sign on the face of the wall had fallen of.

 _Glamorous._

I parked the embarrassingly old bike at the bicycle racks along with three other bikes all that were chained up.  
I wasn't in the slightest afraid of someone stealing that piece of crap so I didn't even bother.

The grounds were empty meaning everyone was probably already in class.

Removing the satchel that I'd found conveniently placed on the coffee table this morning off of my shoulder. I rummaged through it to find a map of what I was assuming was the school, a schedule with subjects and teacher names, a few textbooks and a Forks High student card holding my name and a very unflattering picture of me from freshman year.

I skimmed through the schedule, groaning after every mention of either Physics or Calculus.

I spent at least 8 minutes looking for the building I was supposed to be in and another 5 looking for the actual room .

I was a few minutes late but luckily the teacher had not arrived yet.

Unluckily all the desks in the room were occupied, all but one situated at the very back next to a very pale, very attractive and very intimidating boy. Most definitely a Cullen and judging by the bear-like stature and the dark hair it was Emmett.

I tentatively slid into the seat next to him and tried to contain my breathing. This was the first person I'd met here that was of actual value to the story.

Suddenly this was becoming too real too fast. What if he smelt that I was a phony and I didn't belong in this world? What if he tried to eat me?

It was certainly too late to run out of class now as an old balding man shuffled into the classroom with a thick textbook and immediately dove into teaching. Animatedly lecturing on one of Newton's Laws, or all of them. I don't know I wasn't paying attention. I was too busy thinking about how easy it would be for the big, teenage vampire to snap my neck.

My heart was racing at a mile a minute. Wait could he hear it? Oh jeez, what if he hears it. He'll definitely notice that something is up.

I spend a few second trying to level my heart rate, and for a split second it returns to normal, until he turns to look at me and it's over 200 beats per minute.

 _Shit Shit he's looking at me. He's figured it out. He's so going to kill to me._

I slowly slouched further into my chair and pulled my shirt closer to my face as a lame attempt to conceal it.

I keep my head down throughout the rest of the lesson, only lifting it when I hear the shrill ring of the bell causing me to spring out of my seat and walk quickly out of the door.

My next lesson was English in room 112 and as if sharing a one lesson with an intimidating vampire wasn't enough as soon as I walk in the door I see the lustrous blonde hair and the flawless pale skin of Rosalie Hale.

Not making the same mistake as I made in the previous lesson I take a seat next to a boy with spiky blonde hair, a cute baby face and a kind smile.

"Hey." He says kindly once I sit down.

"Uh, hi."

 _Where the hell is the teacher?_

"Are you new too? I don't think I've seen you around here."

 _Shit._

For some unknown reason my first reaction was to laugh loudly at the boy's totally humorless question, bringing unwanted the stares from other students my way and I'm sure convincing the cute boy that I was in fact crazy.

I very quickly regained my composure and cleared my throat.

"I've gotten that alot today. You really don't remember me..." I look down at his book to his his name sprawled on the front messily. "...Mike. We've been in the same classes for years now."

"Really?" He looked shocked.

I swept the strand of hair from my forehead back to my scalp.

"Yup."

I looked at him looking unsurely down at his books.

 _Did he buy it?_

"Huh." He shrugged, seemingly contented with my answer.

The teacher walked in straight after that. A tall, distracted looking man with wire-framed glasses and unruly brown hair. He had barely spared a glance to the class before he put on the film adaption of 'To Kill A Mockingbird' and switched off the lights.

The rest of the lesson went by in a blur. Half of the class was asleep 10 minutes into the movie and I was deep in thought, trying to figure out how I was going to go on being unnoticed in this world, when the population of the town was probably less than 1000 people and every class I took had at least one vampire.

So much for being 'Imperceptible'.

 **A/N**

 **Thank you so much for all the follows! If you have any, and I mean any criticism to give please feel free to review or send me a pm.**


	6. Chapter 5

_Love seeketh not itself to please, nor for itself hath any care, but for another gives its ease, and builds a Heaven in Hell's despair._

 _\- William Blake._

Edward Cullen was fine.

I'm talking otherworldly, finer than wine, too divine fine.

He had walked into my 4th period History clad in dark jeans and a blue T-shirt, looking like he could steal your girlfriend, baby mama, side piece, and your mother just by glancing in their direction.

As soon as he walked in I recalled his telepathic skills and automatically started reciting a poem to block my thoughts. Partially because they pertained R-rated scenarios, but mainly because I didn't want him to hear some weird girl thinking about his love life.

Then the unthinkable happened. Edward Cullen walked towards me with a leopard-like grace and sat right across me, Amiyah Walters.

Okay not so unthinkable considering the only seat left available was next to me but still, it was frightening.

First Emmett, then Rosalie and now Edward 'too divine' Cullen. I was starting to think that whoever made this schedule had put me in classes with everyone significant to the damn plot.

I'd once sat next to Tristan Fernandes in 9th grade Biology for a whole semester and I could remember sitting so still each lesson to not to make my chair creak so he wouldn't look my way. (9th grade wasn't my best, looks wise nor socially wise. I'd just gotten my braces and had really bad acne and was unable to look anyone in the face for longer than a second.)

But those silly adolescent nerves compared nothing to the intense nerves I was feeling now.

This close, I could see the mesmerizing golden brown of his eyes. He had distinct cheekbones and an angular jaw, his pale skin made him look devilishly handsome.

'Morning class." A disembodied voice made me tear my gaze away from his face.

Glancing towards the door I see a short woman with curly brown hair entering the room with a genial smile on her face.

I blocked out the rest of her speech, instead focussing my attention on the swimming goldfish in the small tank in the corner of the classroom.

She had been teaching for quite a while with no major changes in her tone so when the chairs in the class started moving and I saw the students shuffling of of their seats to different desks I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

What is going on?

After few seconds of blinking and trying to figure out exactly what the hell was going on, a voice that very closely resembled heaven spoke up next to me.

"We have to partner up." Edward spoke softly yet eloquently. "Mrs Rodriguez has assigned the class a project worth 75% of our grade."

It looked like everyone else had already partnered up when I looked across the room. This was nothing new to me, there'd usually be no one left for me to partner up with at school whenever there were group assignments what with everyone else already mentally partnering up before the teacher could finish speaking, so I'd just do the work by myself or the teacher would force me in an unfortunate group of two as a third member forcing me to do all the work and present it as a group effort.

I wondered if I had to even bother, I definitely wasn't going to be here long enough to present it and there was no way I was going to slave away on a project I wasn't going to get a real mark on.

Plus I had no clue what the project was on.

Just when I was about to pull out a book and pretend to be reading through it while I daydreamed, Edward Cullen's musical voice spoke up again.

"Meet me in the Library after school, we'll discuss the assignment then." He drawled out.

'Scuse me?

Sitting next to the dude was one thing. I'd been doing it successfully for 45 minutes. Ignoring his presence and his literally murderously good looks.

But sitting next to him in a quiet place, being forced to actually converse with a vampire was going to be a greater challenge.

"It's cool. I'm sure Mrs Rodriguez wouldn't mind individual work as long as its efficient. Or can we do the work separately and merge it just before it's due."

He looked at me straight in the eyes and gave a sinfully gorgeous smile. "If it's 'cool' with you I'd rather we do it together. Mrs Rodriguez is quite strict when it comes to group work and would brazenly fail us without a second thought. I would like to graduate next year of course . "

What the fuck is this guy talking about? Hasn't he graduated like 1000 times already, I doubt this one time was going to kill him.

In fact being alone with him might just kill me.

But on the other hand, maybe I could somehow get this storyline back on track and initiate a meeting between Edward and Bella identical to their original. Then hopefully by the end of this week I could hop outta this godforsaken place and get a better gig next time. Preferably one without vampires or wolves.

So I put on a strained smile and pushed my hair away from my face. "Okay then. I'll meet you in the library at 3."

The next period was lunch, and although I was starving I had kept to my job description of being invisible and made absolutely no friends, so that meant that:

A- I had to walk into the cafeteria, which I still hadn't located after trailing around the empty halls for 10 minutes, and eat alone at table, watching for any interactions between Edward and Bella like a total creep while singing or reciting a poem in my head to keep a certain telepathic vampire out of it.

Or B- I had to eat my lunch in the girl's bathroom like a total creep.

Since both scenarios ended with me coming off super creepy, I went on with the former one. At least then I wouldn't get a whiff of an unwanted smell while munching on a turkey sandwich.

5 minutes later I found the considerably small lunch room. Grabbed a plate of safe enough looking fries and payed for it with the small change that had mysteriously appeared in my pocket just when I needed it.

I sat down at one of the vacant tables at the very back of the lunch room right next to very large spiderweb in the corner and nibbled on my fries as I scouted the room for a clumsy brunette, and a table of gorgeous, pale 'teenagers'. That wouldn't be too hard at all.

I spotted Bella first, or should I say I spotted two guys having a private food fight at the exact same table quiet Bella sat.

It wasn't hard to identify Bella Swan. Although sitting with a large group she didn't seem to be comfortable with any of them, I'd seen her drop her fork at least twice now and for the love of God she couldn't stop biting her lip.

Other than that she was a very pretty girl, pale, yet not as pale as the Cullen siblings.

She had on a pink head band that contrasted with her pale skin, her dark hair fanning over her shoulders.

She was sitting next to a pretty brunette who was talking her ear off, keeping Bella engaged well enough not to sweep her attention elsewhere.

Then I spotted the Cullen's sitting a few tables across from Bella's. They were obviously very easy to spot. Gorgeous, pale, blah blah blah.

I'd seen Emmett,Rosalie and Edward in my other lessons but it was my first time seeing Alice and Jasper, the couple sitting side-by-side as well as hand-in-hand.

All five had trays on their table of untouched food but every once in awhile one of them would take a sip of water.

Edward sat in the middle of the two couples looking pretty annoyed.

Must be a regular look for him.

Edward's gaze shifted to mine. His eyes were a-flicker with curiosity over a crooked smile.

Even from many tables away his eyes held an intensity that drew me in and kept me locked in.

A crash from Bella's table made me tear my gaze away and intake the scene of Mike and a shorter, dark haired boy engaged in a tussle on the floor.

I let out a shaky sigh, the previous stare off leaving me breathless, and turned back to staring at my plate of fries.

The bell for the last lesson rang soon after I'd finished munching on my last fry and I quickly left the lunchroom without sparing another glance at the Cullen-Hale table.

Gym was my final lesson of the day but I guess I'd left the map of the high school in one of my classes or the cafeteria, because I couldn't find it anywhere. And after 20 minutes of aimlessly looking for the gymnasium, I gave up and proceeded on looking for the library room. Deciding it wouldn't be the best idea to keep Edward cullen waiting,

Yes, I was ditching gym. And if I was being quite honest with myself it was one of the only things that felt right to me the whole day.

 **Happy Easter!**


	7. Chapter 6

_"See how she leans her cheek upon her hand._

 _O, that I were a glove upon that hand_

 _That I might touch that cheek!"_

 _― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet_

 _Edward_

The day had started normally for Edward. Well, as normal as a telepathic vampire's life could get.

He'd been absent from school on Monday and Tuesday. His weekend visit to the Denali coven being extended due to Tanya's request for him to stay longer. And although Tanya's pursuits could get slightly exasperating, being with his 'cousins' was a welcome distraction from the monotony of his daily life.

Unfortunately, when he'd gotten to school that Wednesday he was once again plagued with the irksome thoughts of the Forks High students, most of which were buzzing with excitement over the new girl.

Chief Swan's daughter, Isabella, was causing quite the stir in the simple minds of the teenagers. Even now as he sat in History, Mike Newton was thinking of how to ask Bella to go on a date with him despite it only being her second day.

He'd seen her countless times in the minds of the teenagers. An ordinary girl yet all the males were already picturing themselves in love with her.

He shook his head at the absurdity of humans. Was this his punishment? Eternity surrounded by hormonal teenagers with the attention spans of goldfish?

Next to him sat an unfamiliar girl with cocoa skin and dark hair. This was the first time Edward had seen this girl in his three years of attending this school and this very class.

She was very beautiful, an exotic beauty. Her black hair was pulled up into a messy bun, strands of her hair brushing against her face.

Her thoughts were mainly made up of songs. Almost as if... she was purposely trying to block them from him.

 _What was she hiding?_

Although mysterious, Edward felt a magnetic pull drawing him towards her; trying to find out where it was stemming from was wrecking havoc on his mind.

Maybe it was her eyes, the deep brown he had briefly gotten a glimpse of before she turned her head down. Or her rich brown skin with cool, jewel undertones that seemed to be glowing in the badly lit room. Or maybe it was her lips _. God, her lips_.

Plum and sensuous with a small beauty spot on the left side of her mouth. He felt himself momentarily fall deeper into the spell she was unknowingly was casting on him.

She was wearing a bulky shirt that hid her frame well yet hung loosely on her shoulders and exposed her collar bone, keeping his gaze solely transfixed on the small expanse of smooth skin which was causing him to swallow down the venom collecting in his mouth.

Then it came. The seamless opening to hear her voice. Mrs Rodriguez had been thinking of grouping the class together personally for a while but quickly changed her mind when she glanced at Mike Newton and memories assaulted her of Mike Newton pestering her to choose his own partner.

He could say this was the first time he felt any type of gratefulness towards the grating boy.

He patiently waited for the students to group together before he could speak up.

"We have to partner up. Mrs Rodriguez has assigned the class a project worth 75% of our grade."

She looked up, startled to see that he was talking to her.

An adorable look of perplexity lined her face, her lips parted and her thick eyebrows slightly furrowed in uncertainty.

Allowing him to glance once again at her beautiful eyes.

He was certain that if it were still functioning, his heart would be racing.

She looked down once again, ignoring his previous statement and returning to her own little world of rapping founding fathers.

Maybe he should try again? Perhaps he wasn't as direct as he'd thought he'd be.

"Meet me in the library after school. We'll discuss the project then."

There. That was quite straightforward.

"It's cool. I'm sure Mrs Rodriguez wouldn't mind individual work as long as it's efficient. Or can we do the work separately and merge it just before it's due."

Her suggestion was sensible. He'd done countless of project work on his own in the past; in fact he preferred it that way. He would charm the teacher into allowing him to present his work individually and complete it putting in very little effort yet still retaining the highest grade. But this time he found he was quite content with grouping with the dark beauty.

He looked into her dark eyes and smiled at her use of jargon. "If it's 'cool' with you I'd rather we do it together. Mrs Rodriguez is quite strict when it comes to group work and would brazenly fail us without a second thought. I would like to graduate next year, of course."

She seemed to be delivering an internal monologue. One he couldn't quite catch over the continuous loop of an unfamiliar song.

He thought she would refuse him. It looked like she was strongly considering refusing him, but then she smiled and pushed her hair back and agreed to meet him in the library at three.

When she smiled softly at him he decided he felt quite proud of himself.

He was in a daze barely regarding the shrill bell that dismissed the class.

The same old mundane chatter could be heard as he sat in the high school lunchroom. was tedious, listening to the idle conversation the teens made. Even more tedious was listening into their thoughts.

So superficial and immature he morbidly wondered if there was a physical torture that could compare to what he was enduring.

 _'... Edward Cullen.'_

Reflex reaction. He turned to the sound of his name being called, though it wasn't being called, just thought.

His eyes once again locked with the girl from History. He still hadn't gotten her name, yet that didn't deter his inner beast from imagining those lips trailing across his marble-like skin.

 _Get a grip_. He chided himself. It was unlike him to act this way, especially over a human. But there he was struggling to contain an immediate; overpowering attraction to a girl he just met.

Her gaze dropped from his quickly, distracted by something a few tables away but his stayed fixed on her face. Memorizing every curve and arch in her profile until the bell rang and he reluctantly tore his gaze away from her fleeting form.

Just as he too was about to leave the lunchroom and head to Biology, Alice mentally called out to him to meet her in the car park.

He found her leaning against Emmett's Jeep, checking her cuticles boredly.

"You summoned me?" He asked her with a smile.

She looked at him, unamused and began speaking.

"Who was that girl you were having a staring contest with at lunch?"

"It was hardly a staring contest." He smirked. "If it were, I doubt it would be a fair match."

'It is not funny Edward. Have you seen her before today? I can't remember ever seeing her before and her spontaneous appearance is a bit unnerving.'

"Then she's new. She must have come on the same bus that Isabella Swan came on."

"Everyone knew about Isabella's arrival weeks in advance, this girl? I don't think even the teachers know who she is."

"So what? Do you think she's a threat?"

She looked away from Edward, shifting her gaze to the trees behind him.

"I don't know. I can't see." She said frustratedly.

"You tried checking?"

She turned her eyes back to his face. "Yes, at lunch. I was bored and I was intrigued by your creepy stares. All I saw was you two doing research in the library."

"So nothing happens?"

"Of course not Edward. You're going to feed before you meet her."

"Am I?" He asked, not sure if she visioned it or if she was demanding him to do so.

"Yes," She pushed herself away from the jeep. "And you're probably going to be late."

* * *

 _ **Thank you so much for all the reviews and follows! They all encourage me to continue writing and I am extremely flattered by all your kind words!**_

 _ **I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm a bit on the fence about the POV shift, I'd really love to hear your thoughts on it.**_


	8. Chapter 7

**_your slightest look easily will unclose me_**

 ** _though i have closed myself as fingers,_**

 ** _you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens_**

 ** _(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose_**

 ** _\- e.e. cummings somewhere i have never travelled gladly beyond_**

He was late.

I'd been sitting at one of the relatively small library tables, boredly flicking through an Encyclopedia, day dreaming about Harry Styles serenading me on a private island for about an hour and a half now.

I was cold, tired and hungry, and Edward Cullen wasn't even pitching up for his own plans.

Wow Bella, a real gem you'll turn out to have.

Seconds after I contemplated going home and getting the hell outta this dreary ass town Edward walked into the library like he owned it.

He sat down on the chair next to me and he pulled out some books from his backpack wordlessly.

"Hey there Mr Punctuality." I greeted him sarcastically.

"I'm sorry I'm late. There was-" he paused. "My sister needed my help with something."

I waved it off, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible.

"It's fine, we've still got a while before the library closes." I took out the history book and turned to the page I assumed we were on today in class. "Maybe we can start with-." He cut me off mid sentence.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I had the chance to introduce myself earlier on. I'm Edward Cullen." I looked up into his eyes. Orbs? Because shit those eyes made me feel like I was in a romance novel. Which I guess, I was...

There short silence left between us and I realized he was waiting for me to introduce myself to him.

"I'm Amiyah."

"Just Amiyah? " he asked with a sinful smile on his lips. _Oh god what I'd like those lips to do-._ I quickly ceased my train of thought.

His eyebrows furrowed and the smile on his face seemed to broaden slightly.

"So, uhh. What exactly is this project about?"

"History."

My eyes widened. "Oh, that's uh pretty vague but I guess-" Edward cut me off once again.

 _What the gentleman I had the pleasure to have in my company._

"Are you new? I've never seen you before today." So he noticed. I was torn between gushing because I wasn't invisible to Edward Cullen, resident Adonis or panicking because I wasn't invisible to Edward Cullen, resident _vampire._

"Yeah, I mean no. I've lived here my whole life."

"Go Spartans." I cheered weakly, lifting my fist lamely.

He didn't look convinced.

"Hey, did you by any chance have Biology today?" I wondered.

"No, why do you ask?"

 _"I just wanted to know if you sat next to Bella Swan, your future girlfriend. Smelt her irresistible blood and left a lasting impression that will leave her drawn to your oh-so-subtle murderous vibe so I can go back home to sunny California where there's working wifi, a McDonald's which isn't an hour away and where I don't have to go to school for another 30 days."_

"I was just wondering how Mr Brannon is doing. He's by far one of my favorite teachers."

"Mr Banner."

"Hmm?" I hummed. while skimming through the pages of one of the many history books on the table.

"The Biology teacher, his name is Mr Banner."

I was never good with names.

"So back onto the project,"

"I heard coral project paper calms one's mind," Where exactly was I going with this?

"so maybe we could, or maybe just you, could go ask Bella Swan for some of that."

I needed to shut up now. I thought to myself. But unfortunately my brain and mouth were not in correlation.

"I hear they have a lot of that where she's from... in Phoenix"

Just paste a sign on my forehead that says idiot, please.

"You're very strange." Edward remarked.

"Right..."

We spent another 15 minutes skimming through art books not really speaking, and I, still not entirely sure what I was even looking for. Then Edward abruptly closed the book he was reading causing me to look up from an 'enticing' article on the bubonic plague.

"It's getting late,"

A fault on Mr 'meet me in the library after school but arrives minutes late to own plan' hands.

"Maybe we can meet again tomorrow or Friday to, thoroughly discuss the assignment."

"Yeah. That's cool with me." I might just ditch but..

I stood up and started gathering the books on the table and with Edward's help, packed them back on to the shelves in silence.

Well about 5 seconds of silence before Edward spoke up.

"Do you have a ride home? I think all the buses have left by now."

"Yeah," I bent down to place the last book on a bottom shelf.

"I'm riding back on my bike."

"It's somewhat cold outside. I could give you a ride." I stood up and looked at him. He was standing upright with his hands in his pants pocket looking vogue-esque.

I'd love to, but being around a mind reader was exhausting. If one more show tune played in my head I was going to pop.

"That's really nice of you to offer, but it's fine. I quite like the cold."

"Do you 'quite like' pneumonia?"

Ignoring him I walked back to our table and started packing up my books into my satchel.

Edward stopped me from clearing up the table by placing his hand on my satchel.

"Let me give you a ride home." He said. Staring at me intensely with a small smile, leaving me in a dazed wonderment.

Was he hypnotizing me? Was that another gift of his?He was so handsome it had to be a crime.

"Okay." I replied, giving him a goofy smile I could not control.

I knew nothing about cars. But I could appreciate the really nice ones.

And Edward's was _really nice._

We walked out of the library to an empty parking lot. Save for his Volvo and my very cheap looking bike.

After taking me to his car and unlocking it he'd taken the liberty to put the bike in his trunk while I'd taken the liberty to switch on the heater as I waited in the front seat.

This wouldn't be so bad. All I had to do was think about literally anything than the truth.

Like, Keith Powers. No not Keith Powers, he's too '2017' he'll see something is up. The Empire season fina- _Nope_. Juju on that- _fuck_. This will be harder than I thought.

As I was staring at the sleek dashboard, mentally reciting the pledge of allegiance when Edward came in

He turned on the car and automatically his radio began playing a calming symphony.

The warmth, in addition to the smooth sounds of a viola coming out of the car speakers started to get my eyes heavy.

"So where do you live?" Edward asked breaking my concentration away from the gentle flux of the music.

"Uh, it's the house.. next to the other house."

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I did not know my own house address. As if I needed another reason for Edward to think I'm completely dense.

"How about I drive, and you direct me." He said while pulling out of the high school.

"Amazing idea, Ed." I yawned.

I looked out the window lazily. Cycling here took me a solid 30 minutes, I'm sure just a quick little nap wouldn't kill me.

I mean he could wake me up as soon as we got off the highway, that way I'd be able to give him the directions with a clear head.

I leaned my arm against the window and laid my head against it.

Just five minutes. I thought to myself, my eyes fluttering with every instrumental crescendo.

And within a minute I was asleep.

Something I'd quickly find to regret.

The music had stopped and the car was filled with an eerie silence. That was the first thing I noticed when I groggily awoke from my power 'nap'.

The second thing I noticed was the grey sky which was present what I'm sure was just 5 minutes ago was now black littered with constellations.

The car, which had also stopped moving, was parked in the middle of a desolate drive way. It looked familiar, like I'd been there before, or maybe seen it somewhere.

"Good morning." The velvety voice spoke up beside me and made me jump.

I turned around slightly to see Edward Cullen, seated in the driver's seat of his car.

His lips set in a grim line, a dark expression over his gorgeous face.

Why did I have the feeling that Edward had lured me into his car to kill me? I never really asked what happened if I died in this place.

Would it hurt? Would I get to go back to my real home, alive? Would I still get paid?

"I'm not going to kill you." I jumped at the sound of his smooth voice laced with annoyance and slowly turned to look at him seated in the driver's seat with a look of equal annoyance.

"But you should know that. Considering you know all about me and my family."

 _Oh shit. oh shit. Oh shit. He was onto me. Abort. I repeat. Abort!_

I laughed, hopefully not nervously. "What are you talking about Edward?"

I know nothing. I know nothing. I kept chanting in my head like a mantra.

"I'm talking about your knowledge on what we are."

"Teenagers?" I gulped out.

He hardly spared another glance at me, swiftly he opened the door and got out of the car.

"Follow me." He said tersely before closing his door.

 _I have no choice then?_

 _ **Thank you for the reviews! I've decided to reply to them in my updates so hopefully you guys see them.**_

 **Lola** Thank you so much hearing that really made me grin! Sorry for the long-ish wait.

 **Abide Reader** You were pretty spot on with the whole 'Edward asking if she's new' thing so cudos to you! Your good! Thank you!

I'll try and update next week or after, school has been pretty hectic. Anywho, review please! I really love hearing your thoughts!


	9. Chapter 8

_We start with stars in our eyes_

 _We start believing that we belong_

 _But every sun doesn't rise_

 _And no one tells you where you went wrong_

 _-Ben Platt- Waving Through A Window (Dear Evan Hansen)_

The living room was filled with the delicate odor of lavender and illuminated softly by the artificial light. I was seated on a sleek couch, inside the amazingly gorgeous Cullen residence. Yet, although I was surrounded by so much beauty my nerves were not settled.

My back was upright and I was staring down at my fingers pulling at the loose thread in my sweater. I was hyper-aware of every small sound echoing through the room; the shallow sounds of my breath, the slight creak of the windows as the harsh wind blew against them and even the subtle sounds of nature ricocheting from outside.

Edward was sitting across from me, his posture perfect and still, looking contemplative while staring intensely at the coffee table between us.

His house was empty from what I had gathered. No one had greeted him at the door and from where I sat I could see no one lingering in the hallway.

I hated to admit it but I was scared. Edward hadn't said one word since we got in his house and he pointed for me to sit down, and the silence between us was deafening.

I was growing restless.

"So..." I started out lamely.

"Will the rest of your family be joining us?" I was curious as to why he hadn't confronted me yet. Maybe he was waiting for his siblings so that they could tackle me as a unit.

God. Way to sound perverted, Amiyah.

"No. They are all out." He replied tensely

I unintentionally let out a sigh of relief.

Right now one intimidating vampire is way better than 7.

"Oh.. well that's nice. You've got a, uh. A really beautiful home. I really like this couch. What is this? Cashmere? It's really nice… and uh, soft." I was awkwardly running my hands over the couch now and I couldn't seem to stop.

Edward, ignoring my antics, finally fixed his eyes upon me with an intensity that almost left me breathless. "You know about my family… about what we are... how?"

I didn't know how to answer that. Did I tell him the truth? That he was a fictional character that a middle aged woman had made up in a dream? That Tyra Banks had recruited me, and offered me a large sum of money to save his future relationship with a moody teenager, A relationship that people in my world constantly deemed unhealthy? He would never believe me. He'd for sure have me thrown in the loony bin, or worse; killed. I'd never get out of this place, never get to see Hamilton live, never get to eventually marry Tristan Fernandes and/or Big Sean.

Nope, It'd be better for everyone if I said nothing.

"I can't really tell you that." I said sheepishly.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair gently in growing frustration.

"Okay. You're obviously not from here. Where are you really from?"

"Also something I can't tell you."

"What exactly can you tell me?" He asked frustratedly, his previously smooth voice raising in octaves as well as in anger.

"I can tell you that it's a very beautiful night we're having. Very calm and serene. A perfect night to be by oneself, maybe read a book, watch a movie. Maybe start up on those early college applications?"

His jaw clenched and his face turned dark and I very slowly swallowed down the nerves collecting in my throat momentarily blocking my speech.

"I'm sorry! I really can't tell you much . Shit. I wish I could, if it meant you would stop looking at me with that look that is pretty fucking intimidating. But frankly I'm much more afraid of what will happen if I screw up this story line more than it already is. If you thought Tyra was scary on TV you haven't seen her in real life. She's like a dragon. A very British, pushy, controlling dragon. But you just have to trust me. I won't tell anybody about you or your family. I'm exceptionally bad at keeping secrets, honestly, I am. But I promise to keep my mouth shut. It would infinitely suck if I died because of my big mouth. I'd hate to be that bitch. I quite value my life enough to hold my tongue. You gotta admit, it would be stupid if I spilled your secret to everyone in this town. Especially when the secret is pretty fucking big. And the people who keep the secret are pretty fucking scary. Am I rambling? Fuck, I'm rambling. Sorry."

His face was contorted into a look of confusion before he replied to me.

"You are very vulgar."

"I am aware of that"

"You're also not that smart."

Erm.

"You have to understand. You can't just show up in a very small town, and expect no one to notice your presence. Everyone you passed today questioned your validity. And just because nobody approached you it does not mean you weren't the subject of everyone's thoughts."

I winced slightly. That was bad. I wasn't supposed to draw any attention to myself. Tyra Banks choose me (sadly) for my invisibility among my peers and pretty much everyone. Why wasn't the same happening here?

I guess looking back on it. Expecting a school with a total of 300 students not to notice a new face was dumb. It was like trying to subtly add in a dirty joke in a popular kid's TV show without the Parents Television Council staging a protest against the show. But hey, the fault was more on Tyra and her phony company than on me.

"And you definitely can't expect a telepathic vampire not to notice something amiss, especially when you kept on mentally regarding my family and me as vampires." He continued, his eyes darkening with every perfectly uttered syllable

"You don't seem to comprehend the severe consequences you will face if word goes around that you know more than an average human should. The severe consequences my _family_ will face. We could get _wiped out_."

I gulped, suddenly noticing the seriousness of all of this. It didn't matter that this place wasn't technically real. His life was. To him this wasn't some fictional story or dimension that he could just get away from when the going got a little too tough. This was his life, his family's lives. And some girl was threatening all of that just by existing with the knowledge about his kind.

"I swear to you Edward I will not expose you or your family. I'm not here to mess up your life. I'm here for quite the opposite actually. You just need to believe me." I spoke with conviction, determined to let him see I was speaking the truth.

He took a while to process my words all the while flicking his eyes from me to the flower centerpiece on the table between us.

"Okay." He said simply after moments of silence.

"Okay?"

"I believe you, but that doesn't mean I trust you. Nor does it mean I won't be watching you"

I brightened.

"That's great! Not the whole 'I'll be watching you' part, that's kinda creepy, but you believing me is the first step to you one day trusting me. And with that trust will come with a friendship that is so precious and pure, you might even let me deal a hand in your love life. There are a lot of pretty girls at school, like- oh I don't know, I'm just spitting a name at the top of my head right now- Bella Swan? You two seem like you have a great deal in common. You're both pale and shit. On a completely unrelated note; Amiyah would be a cute name for a baby, huh?"

He froze. no longer listening to me, but rather focusing his attention to something in the distance.

"My family is on their way. If you wish to keep your little secret between the two of us I suggest you go home. Before they start interrogating you. And let me say some of my siblings won't be as lenient as I was"

"Oh yeah, yeah I get it.. So do I order an uber or..."

-Page Break-

 **A/N**

 **So school's been an utter shit fest. Mid year exams along with University applications have taken about 10 years off my life and I've been seriously thinking about living off my parents for the rest of my life. So yeah, that's why I haven't been updating much ._.**

 **Anyway, enjoy your weekend and thanks for all the votes and thanks .yo GraceEllingson and belladu57 for all the amazing reviews!**

 **If you liked it review please! :)**


	10. Chapter 9

_"It's the fire in my eyes,_

 _And the flash of my teeth,_

 _The swing in my waist,_

 _And the joy in my feet._

 _I'm a woman_

 _Phenomenally._

 _Phenomenal woman,_

 _That's me."_

 _Maya Angelou- Phenomenal Woman_

When Edward said that he would be taking me home, I assumed he'd take me in his car or maybe even send me off with my bike and a map.

But before I can even blink, Edward has lifted me off my feet and placed me onto his back eliciting a small squeal from my lips.

 _Nope. Fucking nope! Let me walk!_

I want to voice my protests, just to let him know that I wasn't playing around. But then he's zooming off into the woods and I don't speak in fear of a bug flying into my mouth.

"Don't let go." He commands gruffly.

 _Yeah, like I was stupid enough to do that!_

I don't know how Bella supposedly enjoyed this. I feel like I'm going to puke any second. And I thought merry-go-rounds were bad.

I hold his neck tighter my fingers brushing against the cold of his neck. The chilly air hits my face harshly and I bury it into Edward's neck.

Woah. He smells good. _Really_ good.

I nestle deeper into his neck despite his iciness, wanting to inhale more of his intoxicating scent.

I quickly pull away in embarrassment realizing how weird I was being.

We finally came to a stop in front of my house and I swiftly hop off his back.

I sway a little, my legs feeling more like jello than actual limbs. Edward steadies me with a cold hand on my shoulder.

I look up at him and smile in thanks but instead of his eyes focusing on mine they are glaring down at the old timber planks on the porch floor.

"I'm not going to flame you for taking me against my will because you _did_ bring me home, but I'm just gonna stress that next time you decide to take a girl on a little 'joyride' you should probably warn her in advance. You know, just in case she violently vomits over your shoulder."

He looks up at me, disgust evident on his face.

"Remember; consent is queen." I add.

I stretch out my arm and give him an awkward pat on his rigid shoulder.

"I should leave." He says quickly.

I nod. "Okay..Bye, Edward."

"Goodnight, Amiyah." He says before he sweeps off into the night.

I ruffle through the satchel for the house keys and when I find them I clumsily unlock the front door.

As soon as I step foot into the room I let out a long sigh.

First day on the job and I already blow my cover to one of the main characters.

I hear my stomach let out a little growl and I quickly realise that the last thing I'd eaten was a small plate of fries at lunch which had to be about 5 hours ago.

I drag myself into the small kitchen and begin to look through the cabinets for anything edible.

Fortunately I find some food. Unfortunately it is not _good_ food.

Laying in the cabinets are only 5 packets of noodles and a box of crackers.

I take a noodle pack and start to cook the contents.

Five minutes later I'm sitting on one of the lawn chairs in the living room and eating the beef flavored ramen.

My mind wanders and soon I'm thinking back on today's events.

I couldn't believe I was so stupid to fall asleep in a telepath's car. What if he changes his mind and tells his family? What if they decide that I was better off to them dead than aware.

I choke on a noodle strand and begin violently coughing. I calm down quickly, my throat slightly raw.

As soon as I settle down I try to reassure myself.

It didn't matter that Edward found out that I knew about him.

By the end of the week he'd be so obsessed with Bella he wouldn't even remember about me. Or notice that I was gone. I **will** be gone the end of the week. Everything will work out.

-Page break-

I wake up the next morning, thankfully to the alarm. After taking a very, very cold shower and getting dressed I walk downstairs in a sour mood.

My mood only darkens when I remember all that there is to eat is noodles and crackers.

I grab the box of crackers and walk out the house mumbling a string of curse words under my breath.

I nearly scream out in frustration when I don't see that stupid bike leaning against the wall.

It was still in Edward's car. Great.

I groan loudly and begin to walk. Hopefully I could find a bus stop nearby.

I'm munching on a bland cracker when I see an old red truck parked in a driveway a short while away from my place.

It looked kinda familiar. I inspect the car further as I walk closer, trying to recall where I'd seen the truck before.

 _Oh no._

A dark haired girl walks out of the front door. Her backpack is thrown over her one shoulder. She nearly trips over the porch steps but quickly regains her composure.

 _Bella._

I stuff the cracker I was nibbling on in my mouth and throw my head down.

No way was I gonna talk to anyone else in this damned story. I did **not** what a repeat of yesterday.

I'm walking briskly away from her house when I hear her calling.

"Hey!"

 _Shit. Keep walking. Keep walking._

She repeats herself. This time louder and I reluctantly turn around to face her.

She jogs towards me with her backpack sliding down her shoulder and a genial smile adorning her face.

 _Shoot me now._

"Hey." She says with a flushed face.

"Hi." I reply, trying hard not to grimace.

"You go to Forks High right? I saw you yesterday at lunch. I'm Bella."

'I'm Amiyah. Nice to meet you, Bella.' I say with a strained smile.

 _I wanna go home. I wanna go home._

"Do you live around here? I never knew we had any close neighbors"

Jesus. I lived near Bella Swan? Out of all the places in this ridiculously small town I had to live next to the main characters home? A main character, who may I add, just can't seem to keep herself out of trouble.

"Yeah, I guess I live just down the street from you. Groovy huh? I struggle out with faux eagerness.

"Yeah, that's totally cool. It would have been nice if we met sooner. It was pretty nerve racking going to school and knowing no one."

"Tell me about it." I say under my breath.

"What?"

"Nothing."

She smiled softly back at me. "Hey, I can give you a ride to school if you want?"

I want to decline. So far accepting lifts from the characters in this place was proving not to be the best experience so far.

But then I feel the cramp in my foot from the sneakers that were a size to small for me, and the slight chill that a breeze brings about by the winterly winds and my resilience breaks.

"That would be great, thanks."

I follow her to her truck and we enter together. She turns the key in the ignition and the engine roars to life.

"I like your T-shirt. Are you a fan of the Burning Roses?" She says as she drives.

What was this girl inhaling?

"The what?"

"The burning roses," she repeats herself, turning her head to give me a strange look. "The band on your shirt..."

"Oh. Oh right. I.. I love them."

She brightens and turns her head back to the road. "They're awesome, right?"

"The best." I nod frantically.

"Who else do you listen to."

"Beyonc-... Bey.. uh, Beyond the Shadows... They're European."

"So how are you liking Forks so far?" I ask, trying to shift the conversation away from bands I don't know.

"It's not too bad," She replies after a contemplative lip bite.

"Everyone here is really nice. I guess I just miss my mom."

"Oh. Are you two close?" I ask, not wanting to be rude.

"Yeah... Well, I mean we're closer than my dad and I. It's been pretty weird living with him. I feel like I'm around a stranger."

Now I had no clue how to answer that so I just let out a hum and keep my head down for the rest of the ride.

"Thank you again for the ride." I say to her as we walk side by side to the school building.

I was trying to find away to separate from her without coming across as rude. I mean she wasn't too bad, but so far I hadn't blown my cover to her and I was trying to keep it that way.

The perfect opportunity arrives when a body rushes over to her.

"Hey, Bella." The enthusiastic blonde kid from yesterday greets her with a large grin on his face.

"Hi, Mike." She greets back, less enthusiastically and with a smaller smile.

I try and inconspicuously shuffle away from the pair but then He looks in my direction, his expression a mix of surprise and confusion. "Hey..."

"Amiyah." I finish for him, my eyes twitching as I try to stop myself from rolling them.

"Right. Amiyah. Sorry I just blacked out for a sec there."

"It's fine. I should go to History or homeroom or whatever."

I'm stepping away from the two when Bella stops me.

"Amiyah, wait. Would you like to sit with us at lunch today?" Bella asks kindly.

No No No.

"Oh no I don't want to impose. Besides I've got uhm, band practice."

Mike's eyebrows furrow. "Our school doesn't have a band."

I have visions of violently hitting Mike with a pole when he says that.

I smile brightly at Bella and Mike.

"Right. Well I guess my schedule just got cleared. See you guys at... lunch." I struggle out in pained laughter.

The rest of the day passes by in a blur and when the bell finally rings for lunch I'm beelining for the toilets.

Unfortunately Bella catches me before I can hide in one of the stalls and drags me to the cafeteria, babbling excitedly about a band she saw live last year.

"So, when did you say you started attending Forks?" The brunette, Jessica,asks.

I'm sitting next to Bella and another girl with hornbrillf glasses at a very crowded lunch table, pocking miserably at a salad.

"I didn't," A group of curious eyes are staring at me now, the complete opposite of what was supposed to be happening.

I was supposed to go unnoticed, but apparently my mojo had worn off.

I was ignored for 17 years, and when I'm actually supposed to get paid for it God's just like 'Nah. Let's give this girl the attention she's been praying for _now_.'

My life is a joke.

"Who are they?" Bella asks, saving me from a very awkward conversation where I'd probably have to spit out 99% bullshit.

I turn, along with Jessica, to who she means- even though I already have an inkling of who she's talking about.

Edward is sitting at his table as he spares a glance at Bella but then he quickly averts his gaze back to the bagel on his plate.

Jessica giggles and "That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She says under her breath.

I zone out of Jessica's Cullen run down and patiently wait for her and Bella to finish before I speak.

"Bella. What lesson do you have next?" I ask trying to appear nonchalant.

"Uh. I think I've got gym." She says, her face still a bit pink from the eye contact she made with Edward.

"Oh." I try and keep the disappointment out of my voice. So it wouldn't happen today.

"What about after gym?"

"Biology." She says softly, her eyes focused back on Edward.

I feel like grinning like a mad woman when she says this. They'd have their first meeting today! And I didn't even have to do anything major! Sure there were a few bumpy occurrences, but from here on out it would be smooth sailing. By this time tomorrow I'd be home in my bed, $10 000 richer.

The bell rings and I almost skip to my next lesson which, to my utter relief, doesn't have any vampires. Life was looking up already.

 **A/N. I didn't really edit this much. I'm sorry if you see any bad grammar, or spelling mistakes. It's the holidays soon so I'll be updating more frequently and hopefully I'll get a chance to edit out the previous chapters (This one included.)**

 **Please review your thoughts on the chapter!**

 **Thank you Adela and Miniluce for your reviews on Chapter 8 :)**

 **Enjoy the rest of your weekend**


	11. Chapter 10

I'llgiveyou anything you want from me

Anything you want, anything you need, anything your soul desires

Aaliyah- One In A Million.

Edward didn't come to school the rest of the week, which was to be expected. He was supposed to leave town for a few days to avoid killling Bella. That meant everything was going back on track, that meant I was supposed to have left this town eons ago. Yeah, I thought so too. But here I am, 4 days later still in the fucked up world of Twilight.

When I got back to the guest house on Thursday I was practically skipping to the closet I'doriginally arrived in. Life was looking good. I was going home, going to get paid, and finally, finally, leaving Forks and 2005.

But after continuously opening and closing the closet door for almost half an hour It dawned on me that I probably wasn't leaving then.

I was beyond pissed. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. I was supposed to come here, get the two lovebirds to meet and leave $10 000 richer and blast the fuck outta here on Thursday.

Throughout this whole mess Bella had taken it upon herself to be my personal driver, I couldn't complain much about that. Edward still hasn't returned my bike and I wasn't going to be walking 5 miles in the cold just to go to a school that I won't be graduating from. It also helps that Bella can't read my mind.

I spend the weekend inside, mostly eating out my frustrations.

When Monday unfortunately rolls around I'm angry, confused and growing very sick of the gloomy town.

I contemplate staying in bed. Bella and Edward had met and probably had their own plot appropriate thoughts about each other. Me attending 'Hell High' was pointless.

But nevertheless I grudgingly wake up and get dressed in multiple layers at an attempt to beat the cold.

Bella picks me up shortly after and we ride together making small talk about the weekend.

The day seems to drag on and in the middle of a calculus lesson I find myself once again longing to go home. The feeling only intensifies at lunch when The chatty blonde; whom I only recently find out is called Lauren, asks me once again when I moved to Forks.

I try to prolong answering the question by chewing extra slowly on my dry cheeseburger, but I'm receiving odd looks from the people around the table.

"Uh. I moved here around the same time the Cullens did." I say, starting on the story I created last night.

It wasn't too dramatic. And in my opinion, not very creative, yet the students stare at me in wonder, some even in slight envy as I tell them my 1000% fake back story.

"And since my father was in the middle of planning his engagement, my brother André was dealing with his mental health problems, Jamal was battling his drug addiction and Hakeem, bless his soul, was trying to get his rap carreer started, there was nobody who could take care of me especially since the conditions back home were so volatile. So after my mother was released from jail my father bought me a house here to get away from all of the drama and I've been living in Forks ever since."

I finish off with a tentative smile.

The table is silent and they all are staring at me like I've grown a second head.

Okay, so maybe I could have made the story a little less fictitious. And maybe I should have left out the part about my 'father', Lucious Lyon, killing my 'uncle' Bunky. And I probably shouldn't have made my 'family' billionaires especially when I am wearing a 'GUGGI' shirt and I currently owe Mike two dollars.

I get nervous and beging thinking what am I going to do, but then Jessica breaks the silence by asking Lauren who she thinks is going to win Prom queen and king this year and the whole table is filled once again with chatter.

No more questions are asked after that. I'm not sure if that meant that they believe me or not, but either way I'm greatful that they've moved on.

I excuse myself from the table to go to put down my tray.

I pass by the Cullen table expecting to see Edward's lean frame amongst his siblings but instead of 5 vampires sitting at the table there are only 4.

He isn't here. He was supposed to show up today. He and Bella were supposed to have their first real conversation today. But he was absent. There was a vacant space in his spot.

I was seconds away from yelling ouf in frustration

What is going on in this place?

Wait. If he wasn't at school today. There was a very big chance that he wouldn't come tomorrow. But tomorrow was the car accident. The whole incident that sparked Bella's thoughts of him being something other than human. If he didn't come tomorrow then it meant that he wouldn't save Bella from Tyler's truck. If Bella wasn't saved then she'd die.

No Bella no Twilight. No Twilight- well I wasn't entirely sure what that would bring, but I was certain it wouldn't bring anything other than a mess.

I want to sob. Why was this universe so… shitty?

That night I study the whole Twilight book, highlighting, making notes and memorizing every detail of the accident to come.

The next day I'm a bumbling set of nerves. I'm praying for Edward to be here. I know how everything will pan out if he does show up. But if he doesn't I have no clue how to get Bella out unscathed.

"Amiyah, are you okay?" Bella asks me kindly on our way to school.

"Yeah, yeah I'm totally fine."

My leg has been bouncing frantically and I've practically chewed off my whole thumb nail, but other than that I'd like to think that I'm giving off the perfect image of calm.

I can tell she doesn't quite believe me but she lets it go and we spend the rest of trip in silence.

Before we've even parked I'm scanning the grounds for Edward. Craning my neck to locate his pale frame.

Bella parks in her usual spot and before she even turns her key to switch off the engine I have jumped out of the car, drumming my nails against the car's hood as I wait for her to exit.

"Bella," I say as she eventually climbs out. "You wouldn't mind waiting here for me? I've got to get something from someone."

Her brows are slightly furrowed and she looks a bit confused yet she agrees and proceeds to pull out something from her bag… wait is that an MP3 player? It's so… big.

She leans her body against her truck and places the buds in her ears.

I take a quick jog to the vampire siblings, figuring they were they ones that would know where Edward would be.

They're all standing together by a large jeep, talking in hushed voices and looking like a troubled host of angels.

I swallow the fear building in my throat and put on a hopefully friendly smile.

"Hey."

I'm met with silence and a general unwelcomed vibe. The smile on my face slips off and I decide to quit the pleasantries and cut to the chase.

"Or not... Will if Edward will be here today? We're partners on a project and I need-"

"No. He won't." The blonde one, Rosalie, cuts me off icily.

I feel dread crawl up in me. That did not look good for Bella. Edward wouldn't be here to save her, and I honestly doubted the Brady bunch here would step in as a substitute. I have to get her out of there.

I look to see if she is still leaning against her car, and thankfully she is. I sigh out in relief and begin jogging towards her. I could just drag her into the school building before anything happened. No one would get hurt.

I'm a few feet away from her when I hear the screech of tires and see Tyler's large van barrelling towards her uncontrollably.

My heart begins pounding against my rib cage. Fuck!

I'm running faster than I've ever willingly had to. When I do reach her I grab onto her torso and push her away from her truck. We both land with a thud next to the truck and I feel my skull crack against the icy blacktop. A split second later the van has collided with Bella' s truck.

My brain is thrusting against my skull and the last thing I hear before I completely black out is screaming.

There's a bright light shining above me when I open my eyes. I look around frantically and spot a dark haired lady standing next to my bed in blue scrubs writing something on a clipboard.

I attempt to rise up but I am quickly pushed back down by the nurse.

"Slow down, darling. Let me call Dr Cullen to see you."

Hell nah.

"Hey," I call out to get her attention.

She smiles at me friendly.

"Are there any other doctors that can see me?"

She just laughs airily as if I just told a joke and promises to bring Dr Cullen in soon.

The nurse doesn't return, instead in her place walks in a handsome middle aged man with golden hair and pale skin.

Carlise.

"Looks like the local hero is awake." He says with welcoming smile.

I don't smile back at him, I'm too tired to even fake one. Instead I take the glass of water on the small table beside the bed and drink to avoid conversation.

"I'm Dr Cullen, and you, Amiyah Walters are 17 years old and allergic to shell fish."

I nearly choke on the water.

"How did you know that?"

He gives me a million dollar smile. "It says it right here in your file."

I have a file?

"It also says that you're emancipated, so we had no one to call. I thought it would be best if we waited for you to wake up before we called your emergency contact."

I continue drinking from the glass. Emancipated? I could pull off a lot of things, but if these people wanted me to act like I was mature enough for the state to havd granted me emancipation they were dreaming

"You took a pretty nasty fall, but luckily you don't have a concussion. I just need to do a few more tests and then you'll be ready to check out."

I check out half an hour later. Bella's left by the time I do and I end up taking a bus and walking the rest of the way.

I skip school the next day. I spend it crying and entering the closet every hour to see if I could magically end up back home.

I don't. And I'm a mess for the next 24 hours.

I feel pathetic. I know i shouldn't be crying. I just could not see how everything could go from moderately bad to post apocalyptic bad in just a day.

Edward should have been there. He should have saved Bella, not me.

There's a knock on my door. I ignore it and continue listening to the crooning of Usher through the radio.

It's probably Bella, again. She'd been coming over since I was released from hospital yesterday.

I get it, I 'saved' her life, but it wasn't supposed to be like that, at all. And I can't help but feeling that maybe I shouldn't have intervened at all.

God, I'm such a horrible person.

'Everytime I was in LA I was with my ex girlfriend.' Usher sings.

The tears that are welled up in my eyes fall as I get up from the dusty couch.

I wipe them away and try to smoothen my hair.

'If I gotta tell it then I gotta tell it all.'

Another knock comes, and I'm very close to cursing the person on the other side.

I swing the door open, ready for a fight, Bella or no Bella. But the words die on my lips as I see who is standing on my doorstep in a dark grey coat .

"Edward?" I say incredulously. It comes out hoarsly so I clear my throat and try again.

"What are you doing here?"

His hair is a lighter colour today, contrasting slightly with the dark intensity of his golden eyes. He looks almost conflicted, like he wasn't sure himself why he was here.

"I arrived home yesterday and immediately received news about your accident. My father suggested that I pay you a visit and make sure you're feeling well, but honestly I came over for my own selfish reasons." His honey-like voice distracts me momentarily.

"And what are they?" I ask softly.

"You knew about what Isabella Swan's blood would do to me, you had to. I need to know how. It's been wracking my brain the whole time I was away. You're an enigma, Amiyah and I need answers."

I don't know what to say, don't know how to answer him. I want to go home, I want to stop feeling so useless.

I've barely thought of what I'm about to do before I lean in close and smash my lips against his.

They're warmer than I thought that they would be, they're still cold, but not uncomfotably so. He doesn't respond when I kiss him but soon his marble lips are moving together with mine. Slowly and softly. I feel myself melting into the kiss and I almost forget about my problems. Almost.

I pull away from him rapidly after gathering my thoughts together.

I bring my hand to my mouth, a wave of embarrassment having washed over me.

I don't dare to look up, terrified to see what Edward was thinking.

Why did I do that? Oh my god, I am such an idiot.

"I'm so sorry, Edward." I turn around briskly and rush back inside slamming the door shut behind me.

A/N

Thank you for the reviews on chapter 9!

This was all written on my phone with very very little editing. Not some of my best, I must admit, but I'm trying here.

I hope you enjoyed. I promise the next update won't take so long.

Review please??

Xxx


	12. Chapter 11

_A frost came in the night and stole my world_

 _And left this changeling for it - a precocious_

 _Image of spring, too brilliant to be true:_

 _Cecil Day Lewis- A Hard Frost_

He came back home on that Tuesday night. He'd made a promise to himself while in Denali that he'd stay as far away as possible from Bella Swan and her piquant blood, if not for what remained of his humanity then for Carlise, who believed so much in his son's control.

Although he would not admit it to anyone else in his family. Bella Swan was not the only reason he'd left Forks.

Amiyah. The girl who had barreled into his life that Wednesday afternoon and came with the knowledge of his true nature. And yet, he knew nothing about her. He was unaware of how or when she arrived in Forks, or even who she really was.

Those questions continued to swim in his mind throughout his whole stay in Denali. But it wasn't just the mysteries of Amiyah that clouded his brain.

Her dark eyes shone brightly in the dark abyss of his head. He couldn't help but think of the tug

Esmè had greeted him with an embrace when he returned. She was relieved that he was back, yet worried about the safety of the human girl. He didn't have to read her mind to figure that out.

"Edward"' His father greeted, him too taking Edward into a hug albeit briefer than the one he had just shared with his mother.

"We're all glad you're back. But are you certain you can resist the girl's blood?"

"I will try. I couldn't carry on with the blood of the girl on my conscious."

"You wouldn't have to. She would have been just another cold body by now if that girl hadn't intervened." Rosalie spat out bitterly from the bottom of the staircase.

"Babe". Emmet tried to calm down his wife by wrapping his arm around her waist.

Edward was confused, all he was picking up was images of

"What happened?" He asked slowly.

Rhe lounge was left in a brief silence, his family looked to each other all of them unsure of how to approach the incident .

Finally Carlise spoke up. "Yesterday morning. Bella was involved in an accident." Carlise paused to gauge his son's reaction yet he looked completely apathetic.

Tyler Criwret* van crashed into her car and was very close to hitting her, but luckily your history partner, Amiyah pushed Bella out of the way before she could get seriously hurt."

A pressure grew in his chest at the mention of her name.

"She was there? And she saved Bella? Is she alright?"

"She's fine, Edward. And so is Bella. I attended to them both and besides a few scratches they're in perfectly good health."

Despite Carlise's reassurance of both the girl's safety a tendril of guilt crept its way up Edward.

He did not understand why. The accident was not his fault in the slightest and even if he were at school that day there would be no guarantee that he could inconspicuously save anyone. His reasoning didnt stop the guilt from attacking him at full force and unfortunately for him Jasper could sense that.

"He's guilty." He informed his family, his hand unconsciously rubbing his mate's arm from the love seat they were seated on.

At that moment Edward couldn't help but feel a bubble resentment towards his brother's gift.

"You shouldn't feel guilty Edward." Esmè said comfortingly.

"There wouldn't have been anything that any if us could have done without raising suspicion, even if you were there. Luckily Bella wasn't hurt."

"You don't get it." He wanted to say out. "The guilt I feel isn't for my absence in Bella's accident but for allowing a girl whom I felt an attraction like no other put herself in risk in a situation I can't help but feel like I was supposed to play a part in."

Instead he smiled placidly at his mother and decided to figure out his emotions on his own.

"You're right Esme. I should head on out before dawn begins to break." He needed to get away from his family, just for a while until he gathered his thoughts.

Alice furrowed her brow, worried at her brother's quick change in mood.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Just on a quick hunt," He tried to smile again reassuringly. "I'll be back soon."

With that he was out of the house before anyone could question him more.

It was only when he was miles away was it when he could truly release his true feelings.

He stayed in the woods for hours trying to place his emotions. Whenever thoughts of Bellas blood would disappear, images of dark brown eyes would cloud his mind.

Amiyah. Even with the ability to read her mind he was still left in the dark. He could hardly tell if she felt the same way he did. Was it all one sided? Was she aware of her hild over him? Where did all of these feelings come from?

It was nearing dawn when he found himself running to a familiar part of town.

It was only when he reached her door and knocked twice when he realised that his feet had unconsciously taken him to the house of the girl who was unknowingly tampering with his mind.

The door was harshly pulled open revealing an irrate looking Amiyah. The force of the door opening had caused her hair, which was let down in soft tresses, to lift off her neck exposing her sweet scent to Edward.

Her blood was not as intoxicating as Bella' s dangerously was to him, and for that he was relieved. He could control himself around Amiyah. -At least he could control his thirst.

Edward clenched his jaw at the thought of Bella. He hated what her blood was doing to his animalistic nature. It was almost like what Amiyah's mere presence was doing to his heart, but he hadn't quite figured out if he hated it so much.

His mouth grew dry and he stood there watching her silently. She was dressed casually, a pair of jeans and a low (very low) cut tank top. She quirked an eyebrow up slightly in confusion and her lush lips pursed into a small pout.

' What the fuck?' He heard her swear mentally.

God. What possessed him to come here?

He wondered if she would find it rude if he left. He felt embarrassment eat away at him.

'What are you thinking Edward. Of course she'll find you rude.' He chastised himself

"Edward?" She questioned. "What are you doing here?"

It was too late.

"I arrived home yesterday and immediately received news about your accident. My father suggested that I pay you a visit and make sure you're feeling well," Lies his mind screams out. "but honestly I came over for my own selfish reasons."

"And what are they?"

Her soft tone momentarily stunned him. He had to recover his story before he ended up sputtering in front of her like a preteen with a crush.

"You knew about what Isabella Swan's blood would do to me, you had to. I need to know how. It's been wracking my brain the whole time I was away. You're an enigma, Amiyah and I need answers." He wasn't lying about that. He did want answers and her thinking he was here because of his impatience and frustrations was better than her realising that he came to her for no solid reason.

Her eyes were widened to the point of being doe like while she bit down lightly on her bottom lip. He noticed a slight rise in her heartbeat and before he could ask if she were alright her lips were pressed firmly against his and were moving slowly in a seductive journey.

The kiss obliterated every thought. All of his worries evaporated like a summer shower on hot coal. All he could focus on was how soft and warm her lips felt against his. He was not expecting it. Even with the access to her thoughts he would have never guessed that Amiyah would pull such a stunt.

Initially he was stunned at her bold move, after that fearful. He worried that he would loose himself and hurt her if he returned the kiss, but soon the urge to reciprocate her movements grew too great and he found his lips moving in unison with her own. In that fiery moment his senses seemed to have been seduced and he had lost the ability to think straight.

His high didn't last for long. She quickly pulled away from him, the heat he wasn't aware he needed ripped away from him in the blink of an eye.

She was embarrassed. He could feel the heat of her skin radiate from where he stood.

She raised her hand to cover her noticibly plumper lips. "I'm so sorry Edward." She said moving into the house and shutting the door closed behind her.

He was left standing on the porch what felt like hours but was only a few minutes. He could still see her frazzled state in his mind, her eyes clouded with lust, her slightly parted, plump lips and even the goosebumps that adorned her skin. He supposed that she wasn't aware that she was going to kiss him either. It must of been an automatic thing, not thoroughly thought out, yet he couldn't complain. His lips lifted into a crooked smile and after a quick glance at the pale sky he was off.

It was only when he got home hours later, seated on his chair in his room listening to Bach and he could still feel the ghost of their kiss lingering on his lips did he finally realise the reason why he had such intense feelings for the mysterious beauty.

It was the same reason why Carlise saved Esmè. Why Rosalie persuaded Carlise to change Emmet and why Jasper decided to follow Alice. Amiyah Walters was his soul-mate.

 **A/N** **Once again. This has been edited on my wack phone so there has been very little editing done. I have no clue if/ when my laptop will get fixed so rip. I am writing exams now, started with my first physics paper too, so rip me. I am halfway done with the next chapter but I can't promise it'll be out anytime soon. Thanks for all the reviews on chapter 10! I love reading them and I'm super appreciative of every single review, favorite, follow and even silent read.**


	13. Chapter 12

_Memories fading, I try to hold on_

 _When I don't know where I belong no more_

 _The sound of your voice was my all, was my home_

 _But these walls, they can't hear you no more_

 _- Snoh Aalegra- Time._

I lean against the door for minutes after I shut it, hanging my head down in shame as I think of what I just did.

I kissed Edward Cullen. I kissed a fictional character who was supposed to fall in love with my fictional neighbor.

What was I thinking? With just one stupid action I managed to mess everything up.

If an award were to go out to the most sane person in a 2 mile radius, I sure as he'll wouldn't win it, and yesterday I saw a man on the street having a boxing match with himself.

I move away from the door and walk back to the lounge. I'm planing on continuing my pity party from the couch with the jar of nutella I stole from the school kitchen last week.

"Well, somebody's been busy." A British voice says when I walk into the room.

I jump in surprise when see Tyra' s tall frame standing near a couch in the lounge.

She looks so out of place in the less than extravagant room. Her pink blazer stands out against the pale mood of the room. Her crisp designer purse placed on the arm of the old couch.

I'm so relieved to see her I don't even question how she got here. Instead I run to her and wrap my arms around her thin frame.

"God. You don't know how happy I am to see you. It's been an utter shitfest here. Everything that was supposed to go right went wrong, this town has got no good pizza place nearby, I don't even think Wi-Fi has been created yet. And all I've been having for dinner every night is ramen ramen And ramen. You have come to take me home right?"

She pats my head uncomfortably and gently pushes me away from her with a sheepish look on her blemish-free face.

"Right. About that, Ashley."

Is she serious?

"Amiyah." I correct her impatiently.

"Yes, Amiyah. You see administration has run into a bit of a problem." She says slowly, smoothing out her pencil skirt with freshly manicured hands.

"What kind of problem." I ask skeptically, crossing my arms over my chest.

She picks up her bag and begins to walk around the lounge, touching a small, common vase and frowning as if it had done her some personal offense.

"One of our senior facilitators have found themselves in a bit of a predicament." She stops in the middle of the room next to the small coffee table.

"Silly girl pursued a relationship with a main character from The Hobbit."

I raise my eyebrow. 'The Hobbit'?

"I know...Any who. Long story short, she's claiming that they're in love and is now fighting for the free will of all fictional characters. The board is discussing possible legal action and admin has been working overtime every night. Paperwork. It's been utter purgatory."

"What does that have to do with me?" I ask impatiently.

Her nude colored lips curve into an amused smirk.

"Fiesty! I thought you might like to know considering you'll be stuck here for a while longer than you expected."

The room grows quiet. You can hear a pin drop. I don't say anything, afraid of what extreme curse words may come out of my mouth if I do.

Anger and irritation is bubbling below the surface but I push it down and will myself to calm down.

"What exactly do you mean? You aren't here to take me home?"

"No… but I've come bearing gifts." She pulls out a pink pastry box from her leather bag and places it on the table with a flamboyant 'tada!' "Ladurée's famous macarons all the way from Parí. I thought theses might dull your petulance when I told you the bad news."

I visibly shuddered. Bad news. Great.

"Can you get to it then?" I say, already feeling nervous for what she has to say.

"Well...While the board is busy handling the Hobbit issue they unanimously voted that all facilitators currently on cases, temporary and permanent, to be locked down in their respective fictional worlds. Just until the matter has been resolved of course. But who knows how long that is going to take."

Locked down. As in… stuck here.

I fall down into one of the lawn chairs. It's official. The universe is against me. What else do you have to throw at me world? Huh? I'm ready!

"Oh cheer up. Look on the bright side at least you're not stuck in the Hunger games. All you have to do is stay out of trouble and you'll be fine!"

"I'll be fine?" I repeat incredulously.

"I almost died yesterday! Apparently I'm not so 'imperceptible' as you thought. And in just a few months a posse of homicidal vampires will stroll up in here and start killing locals. According to my 'file' I'm a fucking local!" I say dropping my head into my hands.

"You're overreacting. Everything will be fine." She waves her hand in the air dismissively.

"You should make the most of your time here, think of it like an extended vacatation, or summer camp. There's a dance coming up, you should go, have fun, make friends. Kiss a few fictional boys." She winks at me playfully.

I slowly raise my head as I flare my nostrils in complete anger.Was this bitch serious? She expects me to just go on like everything's okay and throw my ass in a circle to 'The remix to ignition'?

Had the remix to ignition even been released yet? I was born in '99. That was 6 years ago! I know shit about the early 2000s. How the hell was I going to fit in this place?

"I see you have a lot to think about." She picks up her bag and smiles at me.

"The green card has no limit of course, so knock yourself out. Maybe try redocarating." She looks around the room in contempt.

"I really should go know. Au revoir." She says and with a snap of her fingers she has vanished into a light cloud of green haze.

I don't know how to react. I was stuck here until further notice. I'd already fucked things up in less than a week, what more a month?

I slump down into the couch. A childish resentment for Tyra Banks and America's Next Top model growing in me.

I pick up the pastry box and scoff. "Could of brought me something useful, like chapsticks, or an effing Wi-Fi router."

I stay indoors for the rest of the week and the following weekend. Only going out on Thursday to buy some groceries. I can't cook to save my life so I end up getting more ramen, a few other heatable meals and other essentials.

Bella comes over with Angela on Friday afternoon to check on me.

I assure them that I'm fine and I just had a bad bug.

"I'll be back Monday." I tell them with a small smile. A small part of me feeling flattered that they came over.

"That's great. I'm glad you're okay, Amiyah. Everyone at school has been worried. And me and the team have been talking, and we thought we should ask you if you wanted to be on the prom committee, considering your background in music."

I know she's just offering to ease the guilt of their supposed disregard of my presence for the past two years but a part of me doesn't feel so opposed to accepting. It would give me something to forget about the mess most commonly known as my life right now.

So here I am five days later sitting in the poorly lit rec room, along with 7 other students, including Angela, cutting tickets for the dance and missing a history lesson. (No complaints from me of course)

Christine, a pretty, mixed girl is sitting next to me and chatting animatedly about what she's planning on wearing to the dance.

"And I'm taking Emery. That's the dark haired guy over there." She points out discreetly to an attractive

asian boy sitting next to Eric Yorkie at one of the computers, staring intently at the large monitor, wearing a bright,olive green sweatshirt and an even brighter smile.

"He's cute." I compliment kindly, taking out another sheet of the red ticket templates from the tin in the middle of the table.

"Yeah." She says dreamily. Her lightly freckled face propped up on her hand as she slumps over the table and stares at him.

"So who are you going with?" She asks after

"Eh." I shrug, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ears. "I wasn't planing on going, actually."

Her face contorts into a look of displeasure.

"Why not?" She questions. "Is it because you don't have a partner? Because I heard Mike Newton wanted to ask you."

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. That didn't sound right. Wasn't he supposed to have some massive crush on Bella?

"Are you sure?" I stress out. "I thought he wanted to ask Bella."

It's her turn to look at me in confusion. "Where did you here that?"

Crap.

"Nowhere! I just assumed because- I.. I just thought."

I stutter, trying to find the right lie.

"Don't you want to go with Mike?" Christine asks curiously.

Yeesh, slow down Judge Judy.

I stop cutting the sheet of paper and gnaw on the inside of my cheek

"Its not that," it's exactly that. "We've just hardly spoken to each other." I mean we spoke once in chemistry when I told him that his shirt sleeve was on fire and another time when I borrowed $5 dollars from him at lunch(Which I still needed to pay back) but other than that I didn't think Mike even acknowledged my presence.

"And I just thought that since Bella' s new and all he wanted to ask her."

"That's not what I heard." She says ominously. "But hey, maybe you're right." She picks up her pair of scissors and continues cutting from the paper.

"He's sitting by the window there, why don't you ask him." She nods her head over to a table in the corner where Angela sits, alongside a blonde girl with reading glasses and Mike Newton, who's staring right at me…

Holy crap.

His face turns bright red when my eyes meet his and sheepishly lifts his hand to wave at me.

I unconsciously pull a face. I try to cover it up by giving him a strained smile and an awkward wave in return.

What the actual fuck was going on?

Angela suggests we take a break during lunch and I'm the first when out of the door when she says this having not eaten anything since the poptart I had this morning.

I'm standing in front of the dish of nuggets and salad, pondering over whether I should take more nuggets and fill the empty space I have left over on my plate with more junk or if I should take the alternative, healthier route and dish up the dry looking green salad.

"Amiyah." I'm still thinking over my choice when I hear a deep, honey-like voice call my name from behind me, sending a chill through my spin.

I don't have to turn around to see who it is. The hair standing up at the back of my neck gives a clear indication already.

"Fuck." I mouth to the innocent nuggets. I turn around to see Edeard Cullen's lean frame standing behind me. He's wearing a tight fitting dark blue shirt, outlining his frame perfectly and contrasting hauntingly against his pale complexion. His hair is styled gorgeously today, a darker shade underneath the fluorescents. My eyes trail down to his lips, a heat in my stomach grows when I remember our kiss.

Shit, he's so fine. Fuck! He can hear my thoughts. Fuck! Fuck…My ears grow hot.

"Hey Edward. Wonderful weather were having today. Huh?" I say nervously as I turn back to dish the salad onto my plate.

"Let's skip the pleasantaries.I'd much prefer it if we talked about what happened on Wednesday." He says, his voice light and inviting.

I keep my head down. Dishing more salad onto my plate than necessary.

"What happened on Wednesday?" I ask feigning dumb "I was pretty doped up on all of that pain medication I can hardly even remember how I got home." I lie through my teeth, placing the salad fork back in the bowl.

I can feel his eyes burning into the side of my face without even looking up

"Are you honestly going to act like it didn't happen? I can hear your thoughts." I see a slight smirk forming on his lips in my peripheral vision.

I sigh dejectedly. I was being hella immature.

I place my tray down and force my eyes to look into his strong gaze. It was time to face the music.

"I'm sorry Edward. I was crazy emotional that day and I acted impulsively, but I understand how you must feel so if you're still looking for some answers you can come over to my house tonight, I'll tell you everything you want to know."

I don't wait for him to answer me. I've said what I needed to say, I pick up the tray and walk briskly to the table I see Bella waving me over to.

I slump down into the chair next to her and chew miserably on a celery stick.

There was no going back now.

xxx

*Not edited.

This was actually supposed to be way longer but I decided to split it into two chapters when I saw the word count reaching 4000. Still a lot of work to be done on that part though. I hope you enjoyed. Go ahead and review if you did. Thank you (a really really big thank you) to those who reviewed the last chapter. My heart honestly does a little jump whenever I see a new review. Haha, yesmylifeisveryboringyes. Enjoy your weekend xx


	14. Chapter 13

_All I ever wanted_

 _Was to understand the poet in the sky_

 _Figure out the hidden truths_

 _He laced together and wrote in the night"_

 _Alana - High Off you._

 _Edward_

.

Edward was sitting at the piano in the early hours of the morning, waiting on his siblings to get ready so they could ride to school together.

It had been a whole week since he had last seen Amiyah, and Edward was growing restless.

Amiyah...His mate. He couldn't contain the small smile that came across his lips when he thought og that. After centuries of solitude Edward did not even think he could ever have a mate;The consequence of his rebellion earlier in his vampire life. But there was no denying the bond he felt with her, his feelings only growing stronger each day. He had a mate, someone that unknowingly already held a part of his cold heart in their hands. Soon he would be at her complete mercy

"What are you smilling about?" Rosalie said from the stairs she decended from wearing a stylish yellow coat over a black winter dress, staring oddly at her brother's uncommon expression at the large piano he sat at.

He had been going out to the woods every night since his revelation, the only place he could truly think without any interruptions.. He silently wished he could be there right then.

"Nothing that would interest you." He said staring down at the shut piano, his thumb wiping away the speck of dust on the cover.

"Hmm, I'm sure." Rosalie said coarsely walking towards the hooks near the piano that held the many car keys, her black heeled boots, hardly appropriate for school wear, click clacking with every step she took.

"Unless it's regarding that girl you went to see the night you returned." She said after grabbing a pair of keys from the hook.

Alice choose that moment to walk gracefully down the stairs, quickly turning back around after hearing the last part of Rose's sentence.

She was not so lucky to escape as Edward had caught her before she could speed away.

"Alice," Edward called at her retreating form. She paused in her tracks, and turned around to face him. Her face the image of pure innocence.

"Yes dear brother of mine?" She asked sweetly, timidly moving closer to where Edward and Roalie were.

"What is she talking about?" He rose from the piano, the chair making a sharp creak against the marble tiles.

"I have no clue." She said feigning innocence, Edward not missing the quick, intense glare she sent their sister.

"Oh Alice, drop it." Rose said irritatedly to the pixie-like vampire.

She turned back to Edward and began to explain herself. "Alice had a vision of you and that horribly plain girl from school kissing."

Edward grew deadly quiet, his breath halting. Of course Alice would find out. She was most probably aware of the encounter between him and Amiyah, before it even happened.

He should have noticed they were both hiding something when Alice kept on mentally reciting the French Alphabet and Rose's thoughts stayed primarily on her beauty, rather than the occasional vain thought.

He should have come to her immediately after he came back from Amiyah's house, perhaps he could have stopped her from blabbing to Rose, or whomever else she told.

He then grew angry. Alice should have come to him before the kiss even took place! He would have done something to prevent if he knew!

He stopped. Was he being honest with himself? Would he really forfeit the new feelings that were unlocked within him after she kissed him?

Alice whipped her head to Rose, appalled that her sister would sell her put.

"Rose! I told you that in complete confidence!"

"Well, it needed to be confirmed!"

She turned back to Edward, her upper lip curled up in distaste.

"So did you really do it? Did you kiss that human girl?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

Edward tried to appear indifferent. He didn't need to explain himself to her, or anyone for that matter.

"I don't see how that concerns you in the slightest." He replied, walking away from his sisters and into the kitchen to retrieve his bag for school.

"Are you completley brainless?" She asked following him into the kitchen, Alice hot on their heels.

"If you're consorting with a human it concerns all of us! Do you understand the danger you could put all of us in if you find out she can't be trusted? Or if the Volturi find out?"

Edward stalled as he reached for his backpack. A voice, his this time, screamed in his head that he was being selfish. He had hardly taken the time to think over the consequences his family might face if he did end up pursuing a relationship with Amiyah.

Hell, the thought of Amiyah not feeling the same way he did barely crossed his mind at all.

Suddenly Edward's chest began to slowly constrict. How could he be so foolish and selfish? Was he really blinded by the idea of love that he completely failed to think clearly.

Alice rolled her eyes at her sister. "Rose, you're being unnecessarily dramatic." Rosalie scoffed incredulously.

Ignoring her, Alice continued. "Edward, don't listen to her, Amiyah is harmless. At least I think she is, I haven't really had any visions of her without you with her, but I doubt she can't be trusted. Regardless, I'm happy for you. I think you and Amiyah will be good together."

Rosalie gave Alice an scowl and muttered. "Him and and a duck wouldn't be good together."

Edward was greatful for at least one of his sisters' support, yet he was growing increasingly agitated with Rose's antics.

"Stop. I don't care if you don't think Amiyah can be trusted. I wasn't planning on telling anyone for a while, but Amiyah is my mate, and although it may be too soon to tell but I can't see her ever betraying me or this family."

"That's adorable." Alice said wistfully the same time Rosalie said with a sarcastic smirk. "That's hilarious."

The two vampires looked questioningly at their vain sister.

"She can't be your mate, Edward." She said, her cynical smile being replaced with a look of askance.

"She's a human. Humans and vampires can't be soul mates, it defies nature"

Edward's anger flared. How dare she? Their very existence defied nature, yet the notion of Amiyah and his soul being made for each other was too unimaginable? He wasn't sure what angered him more: Rosalie's callous statement or the idea of it being true.

"I'm driving to school alone." He said passively, his jaw set in a hard lock, unrest brewing under the surface.

He used his speed to grab the keys to his Volvo and run out of the house into his car.

Edward was in a sour mood all day, his mood only darkening when he was forced to endure yet another hour in close proximity to Bella Swan.

She flushed when she saw him sitting at their shared table once again. For the past week it had been the same, she would pause in her tracks when she saw Edward, her cheeks would blush a light pink and she would timidly sit next to him, sneaking glances when shr thought he was unaware and staying silent the whole lesson.

Today though was different.

"Hello." She said shyly, gnawing furiously on her bottom lip.

He dared not reply. Speaking required him to inhale, and he dreaded the burn that would set alight in his throat accompanying him breathing in her scent.

He instead gave her a curt nod, leaning as far away from her as he could without moving his seat.

"I-I was wondering if I could share your textbook with you toady." she stuttered and pushed her hair behind her ear. "I left mine at home this morning."

He could not tell if she were telling the truth or not, her thoughts still silent to him. Nevertheless he pushed the thick Biology textbook to her side of the table and looked back to the front of the class as he feigned being engrossed in Mr Banner's teachings.

He could see her lips curve into a small pout through the corner of his eyes. He supposed she thought he would move closer to her in order to share the book.

He fought from rolling his eyes at the girl's complete oblivion and instead forced himself to listen to Mr Banner teach the syllabus the same way he had heard being taught over one hundred times.

When the bell lets out a shrill ring signalling the end of the period he rushes out of the biology room as fast as a human would find inconspicuous, scowling when he realises that it was lunch and he'd have to face his family for the first time since that morning.

He slowed down his pace in the hallway, leisurely going along at an attempt to prolong the inevitable.

When he reached the cafeteria, he was bombarded with a collection of thoughts and scents, yet there was only one set that piqued his interest.

His heart nearly jumpstarted itself when he looked across the room to see _her_ standing in the empty lunch line.

She was wearing a faded floral blouse that showcased only a small section of her beautiful, dark skin and a pair of dark, tight fitting jeans that hugged her curves. Edward had never seen a pair of jeans fit a woman so perfectly.

He watched her in silent fascination from across the room. Her eyebrows were knitted together as she mulled over her food choices.

 _'Nuggets or salad? Salad or nuggets? This shouldn't be so hard, I'm not taking the SATs I just need to make one simple choice. And that choice is going to be… Salad. Yup. I'm going with the salad.'_ Her arm hesitates as it's about to reach for the salad bowl. _'Ugh but it looks so dry.'_

He smiled at her internal dialogue. His mood already brightened just from seeing her.

His smile dimmed as he recalled that morning's argument.

He walks towards her with plans to confront her about their kiss. Did she share the same feelings as him? Or at least even a fraction of them?Or did she just kiss him to shut him up?

When he reached her he offered her a genial smile, it only broadening when he hears her thoughts.

' _Shit, he's so fine. Fuck! He can hear my thoughts. Fuck! Fuck.'_

"Hey Edward. Wonderful weather were having today. Huh?" She askses nervously as she turned back to dish the salad onto her plate.

He was anxious for answers. "Let's skip the pleasantaries.I'd much prefer it if we talked about what happened on Wednesday." He said, trying to keep his tone light.

"What happened on Wednesday?" She asked "I was pretty doped up on all of that pain medication I can hardly even remember how I got home." She shifts her gaze away from his. Edward keeping his eyes focused on her profile. He smirked when he received an image from her mind replaying the kiss and he felt heat radiating off her skin.

"Are you honestly going to act like it didn't happen? I can hear your thoughts." He reminded her.

She let out a sigh and put her tray down. Her dark brown eyes clashing determinately with his amber ones.

"I'm sorry Edward. I was crazy emotional that day and I acted impulsively, but I understand how you must feel so if you're still looking for some answers you can come over to my house tonight, I'll tell you everything you want to know." She said it all in one breath, surprising even Edward. She picked up her tray and walked to the table, once again leaving Edward at a loss for words.

 _Answers_. He thought. _Finally_.

 ***Not Edited** **I have no clue why I find myself writing from Edward's perspective in 3rd person so much, especially when i collosally suck at it. Also I think I'm making Edward too ooc, oops.** **Thank you to everyone that reviwed Chapter 12! The reviews actually motivated me to write last night instead of studying for my Chemistry paper. (I wasn't planning on studying either way) so keep them coming!3** **Enoy your weekend!**


	15. Chapter 14

' _Ah, Love, how badly hast thou governed me!_

 _Why should affection so sincere and pure,_

 _Bring with it such desire, such suffering?'_

 _Count Giacomo Leopardi- First Love._

It had been a crappy day.

I get home late. My head feeling tight and my body tense. I peel off the parka from my arms and throw it onto the chair in the living room when I walk in.

Bella's dad picked her up early today so she couldn't give me a ride home, which meant I had to wait for the school bus to take me.

It turned out the Biology students had some type of excursion today so the buses only ended up returning to school at around 6pm, and the bus driver wasn't exactly thrilled to continue dropping kids off outside of his work hours.

I sluggishly pull myself up the stairs on the way to the bathroom.

I quickly jump in the shower, doing a little dance when the icy water touches my skin. I stay shivering under the water for a few seconds until the water finally gets hot.

I stand under the shower for fifteen minutes, letting the hot water soothe my muscles as it jets across my neck and runs down my back

I was my hair with the sweet smelling shampoo and let the sporadic water wash my over my head until my hands and hair are free of soap.

After completley drying off I pull on a dark grey tee and some pajama shorts.

I miss my bed. My real bed.' I think while I walk lazily into my room.

I'm so busy glaring at the small bed that I hardly notice the brooding vampire sitting on a chair near the window.

"Jesus!" I jump out, my heart rate accelerating at a speed it's never reached before.

 _Shit._ _I completely forgot._

"I'm sorry." Edward said quietly. "I heard you were in the shower so I came in through your window."

I pull my hair out of my bun and walk towards the bed. "It's alright." I say before I sit down.

"It's sorta creepy that I didn't hear you come in at all. But hey, you are a 'stealthy vampire' right?" I say chuckling.

"Right…" he says slowly, my lame attempt at a joke going right over his head.

 _Ugh. Better get into it._

"What do you want to know first? I ask him nervously, frantically drumming my thumb on my thigh.

"Where are you from? Really?"

"California, from the year 2017." I say, trying to come off as completely transparent yet sounding more like a discount Marty McFly.

"2017? That's crazy." He frowns.

"Heh, that's not even the tip of the iceberg, bud." I mutter into the air.

"So what are you? Some sort of time traveller?" He asks.

"Not exactly. See, as of about a week ago I got a new job with this zany company. A company that worked with the alternate universes of fictional worlds." I glance nervously up to see his perturbed face.

"Yours being one of them." I say finally.

His eyebrows knit in bewilderment.

"So I'm living in a fictional world?" He asks skeptically.

"Basically." I say, trying not to wince at how badly I was going about this.

"That's pretty far fetched, Amiyah. The very idea of living in a fictional world is just absurd. That would make my whole existence a fabrication. My memories, my family, my emotions. I can believe that you're not from this town, or even this century. But to believe that my reality is imaginary is ridiculous."

"I understand that! And I'm in no way asking you to disregard your existence. I just." I stutter, trying to find the right words to say. _This could not get any worse._ "I just need you to keep an open mind when I show you this."

I reach behind me to grab the book from underneath my pillow. When I feel the soft cover underneath my fingers I grasp onto it and place the copy of Twilight on the weathered bedside table between us.

Edward stares at the book for a few seconds, and the dark cover glares back at me, the red of the red of apple seeming intensified as if to express its displeasure towards being revealed to its subject. Paranoria eats away at me The novel was never meant to be in the hands of one of its characters.

I'm rethinking letting him see the book, I'm about to pull it back into the safety my arms, and retract everything I just said, but I'm too late. Edward has started reading the book, his eyes moving swiftly across the pages. His expression wavering very little except for a small twitch in his brow.

He's finished in under 30 minutes, when he's done he closes the book slowly and slides it back onto the table

"Did you write this?" He asks, his voice a deathly calm.

"No! No Edward. It was written by someone else. Someone very famous from where I'm from. She's mainly famous for writing these books actually."

"Books?" His visibly grows uncomfortable. "There're more of these anomalies?" He questions in repressed irritation..

"Four, I think." I say shyly, slightly sinking into the pillows.

"And these books? People like them?"

"Yeah, I guess."

He threads his fingers through his hair and sighs. He's silent for a while. The air between us sizzles with tension

"Does Bella know about this?" He asks finally breaking the silence.

"Oh no. I was more careful around her. It wasn't my intention to let either of you know. I've just screwed everything up so much already that I thought what the Hell. Fuck Tyra-who-im-not-even-sure-is-the-real-Tyra. I was supposed to make sure that you and Bella meet without any hiccups and everything runs smoothly. I was supposed have left by Friday. But then Tyra, the lady that hired me, she paid me a visit yesterday to tell me that I was stuck here until further notice. It caused me a lot of stress but it also made me realise that I was being unfair to you. I was planning on going back home and leaving your life turned upside down."

"This is a lot to process."

"Understandable."

"And I'm glad you told me the truth."

"Honesty is the best policy." I reply with a sheepish smile and an awkward thumbs up. "You can take all the time you need. To, you know, think about it."

He stands up from the chair and begins pacing around the room.

"I don't need time to think about it. I just..." He pauses for a moment, his expression one of deep thought.

"I believe that where you're from I might be fictional. But here, I'm very much real. There's no forging my emotions."

"Of course " I say, fighting the smile that wants to break through

He was taking it well. Maybe it wasn't such a stupid move to tell him. Maybe it would all work out.

"And I understand that in the book I pursue a relationship with Bella, but I don't think that's the best option right now.

I pause. My blood rushes cold. He can't be serious.

"Pardon?" I choke out.

"It seems like all I cause her is grief. I think it would be best for everyone if I kept away from her."

Oh god. I come here to try and fix my mistakes and I end up creating an even bigger fuck up.

I get up quickly from my bed and walk up to him.

"Edward, you and Bella are meant to be. I get that you might be a bit shaken right now but don't make any rash decisions."

He looks at me oddly, his eyes searching for something in mine, exactly what I don't know, but the eye contact causes multiple loops to form in my stomach.My mouth loses the ability to properly formulate words as I keep my eyes soley transfixed on his. His eyes have a way of unlocking something within me, something I've never, ever felt before.

It's nothing. I try to convince myself. I'm just feeling this way because he's extremely attractive, I'll get over it soon enough.

He's still looking at me, and I haven't yet pulled my gaze away.I try though, I really do, but it's as if he has me mesmirezed it feels almost impossible to pull my eyes away from his burning embers.

 _Oh god, I wish I could…'_ I close my eyes tightly and turn away from him, trying to stop my thoughts from continuing.

"Believe me. My decision is far from rash." I hear him say softly as he walks away from me and back to the chair.

"Look, before you completley rule out being with Bella, just try talking to her first. Have lunch with her tomorrow. It might help you change you mind about everything." I say, turning back around to face him yet avoiding eye contact.

He doesn't say anything.

"Please?" I beg desperately.

"Okay." He says after a long pause.

I smile gratefully at him while he states at the ground.

"I should go."

"Oh… okay." I push down the unexpected feeling of disappointment I feel growing.

He gets up from the chair and in the blink of an eye he is gone.

I struggle to fall asleep shortly after he leaves, despite feeling drained. I do end up finding slumber though, but when I dream I dream of him.

_pb_

"Hey, Bella. What would you say if I told you that Edward Cullen practically begged me to ask you if you wanted to join him for lunch today?" I say with a smile on my face.

Bella's head whips to her side to stare at me dumbfounded, some of her hair hitting Mike in the face in the process. Her eyes are wider than I've ever seen them be and she seems to be in a daze.

I wonder if she's gone into shock, right here in the lunch line.

"I'd say that it is a very horrible thing to lie about especially to a friend." Bella says with a furious blush spread across her cheeks.

She reaches for an apple and pauses. "Unless it isn't a lie, then I'd most probably die of happiness!"

I roll my eyes in amusement. Jeez, this was the most expressive I'd ever seen her.

"Well, you'd better call the nearest mortuary and set a booking."

I discreetly point towards Edward gazing out of the window as he sits at a table separated from his siblings.

"He's waiting for you over there."

She starts rambling, her face getting more and more flustered with every word. "Oh god. Do I look okay? How do I smell? O changed my deodorant the other day,Maybe I should go and-

Bella. Calm down, you look and smell fine, just go and enjoy yourself."

"Yeah.. yeah, okay. I'm going." She says, tucking her hair behind her ear.

I watch her walk towards Edward ignoring the tug I feel in my chest when he smiles polietly at her.

"So Bella and Cullen, huh?" Mike asks, sidling closer to me in the line.

I hum uncommitedly in response taking a bottle of water and placing it on my tray.

"It's odd. I would never guess he had a thing for her."

"Huh." I exclaim in mock interest.

There's an awkward silence left between us, I realise far too late that he was expecting me to keep the conversation going.

Tough break, dude. You're speaking to the queen of carrying crappy conversations.

I'm done dishing up my lunch so I give him a parting smile and start walking towards the table I'd grown to not totally hate during the past few weeks.

Mike jogs after me, and I try not to groan at the prospect of another awkward chat.

"Hey, let me carry your tray for you." He says confidently with a friendly smile.

I look down skeptically at his hands. He's already holding his own tray and has his backpack laying over his shoulder.

"Uh. It's cool. I can carry it myself." I reply as politely as I can. I didn't want to be rude. He was being sweet. Stupid. But sweet.

He ignores me and somehow grabs my tray from my hands without dropping his own and clumsily positions it under his one arm, smiling triumphantly at me. I want to wipe that smile off his face when my pudding cup falls and spills onto the ground.

"So I was wondering if you were free tomorrow?" He asks, walking beside me, the water on my tray shaking .

"No, I'm fucking expensive." I almost grumble out childishly feeling bitter about the discarded pudding laying on the floor.

Instead I repress my malcontent and reply "No…Why?"

"A bunch of us are going to the beach. I was thinking maybe you'd want to come with us." He asks in a hopeful voice.

I shrug, it would beat staying at home and rereading those dreadful books for the fortieth time.

"Sure." I say smiling polietly, "Thanks for the invite."

He grins bashfully, "No need to thank me. It'll be great with you there."

When we reach the table Mike does an awkward arm shimmy to try and safely put down one of the trays. I help him by removing my tray from his grip, saying a quick 'Thanks' before I go and sit down next to Ben and Angela.

I make small talk with Ben throughout lunch and occasionally join in the group discussion the table holds,pretending I don't see the lingering glances Mike sends me when he thinks I'm not looking.

Mid bite of my second muffin I see Bella walking away from Edward's table and taking a seat next to me.

I look down at my watch, surprised to see her even sitting down here.

There were only 3 minutes of lunch left, still I'd thought her and Edward would want to keep talking until at least the very end of it.

"So how was it?" I ask, trying to keep optimistic.

"It was fine." She replies sullenly.

"Just fine? What did you two love birds talk about? Did you guys hit off?"

"He wasn't really into the whole thing." She says, pathetically poking at her salad.

"What?" I feel the smile on my face slowly sliding off.

"He asked me a few questions. And he was really nice! But he wasn't really focused on me much. In fact he kinda kept on looking back at you and Mike"

I swallow the lump forming in my throat. _Fuck_

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. I asked him about it but he changed the subject before he could answer. I don't think he was feeling too good today so I invited him to the beach, you know so we can hang out more."

 _Oh honey.'_ I think sympathetically.

"You did? Well that was nice of you."

"Do you think he'll come?" Bella asks, her face mimicking Mike's same hopeful puppy expression.

"Uhh.." I start out but I'm interrupted by the shrill ring of the bell. I breath out a sigh of relief, lying was not my forte. The lunch room is bustling with students trying to leave.

I keep my head down as I walk beside Bella, letting the Barney theme song play loudly in my head and pretending I don't feel the burn of his eyes on me.

 **I suck. I know I need to edit pretty much all of my chapters but I'm extremely lazy. But I'm extremly greatful for all the support this story has been getting.** **Thank you to sholtsclaw698 and Areyasha on reviewing Chapter 13! Your kind words made my day.** **Please Please Please review? I really love getting feedback. Especially in this dark time of my life (finals are the devil's creation yo.)**


	16. Chapter 15

' _You don't know babe, when you hold me_

 _And kiss me slowly_

 _It's the sweetest thing.'_

 _Daniel Caeser feat. H.E.R - The Best Part._

I wake up feeling gloriously weightless.

My eyes flutter open as a light ray shines onto my face.Sunlight streams in the window, turning the sheer hangings around my bed a filmy gold.

I smile when I see Edward sitting near my windowsill. His silhouette is outlined with the gold being reflected from my hangings, making him look even more ethereal.

"Hey," I say breathily, smiling uncontrollably at the gorgeous vampire in my room

He turns away from the window and gives an alluring smile to me in return.

"Morning." He says in his musical voice.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him after my mind has cleared.

"You know what I'm doing here." He replies as he walks closer to my bed.

"No… I really don't." My eyebrows knit together.

He sits down next to me on the bed, his eyes travelling across my face. He frowns, confused.

"Why do you keep fighting it Amiyah?" He says, his face moving closer to mine."

 _Oh god._

"Fighting what?" I ask, perturbed by his close proximity.

"This, your feelings. Our connection." His cold thumb traces my cheek and pushes a stray hair strand behind my ear and I try not to lean into his touch.

 _What the actual fuck is going on?_

"Uh. I don't know what you're talking about, Edward. I think it might be time for you to go."

He moves his face even closer to mine, his cold nose nearly brushing against my own, our lips only inches apart.

"Do you really want me to go?" He asks lowly.

Yes! My mind screams. But I can't even say that. I can't say anything. My throat feels as if it's closed up. All I focus on are his eyes, his beautiful eyes that make me feel so weak with just one glance.

The air between us grows thick, the silence only increasing as even the bird's chirping stops.

I feel my face slowly inch closer towards his until our lips connect in a fiery moment.

Our lips tangle together. And I kiss him harder, deeper with a fervent need I've never felt before.

My fingers grip his hair, pulling him closer as I moan into the kiss.

I need to catch my breath so I unwillingly pull my lips away from his,but that doesn't stop him, his icy lips move to the nape of my neck and places kisses on my skin leaving a red hot heat in his trail.

I sigh as the pleasure only intensifies. I never want this to end.

"Amiyah." Someone is calling my name. I ignore it and continue focusing only on Edward and the pleasure he is giving me.

 _Edward. Edward. Edward._

"Amiyah." They call me again, this time louder and I jerk awake. The air smells of Doritos and deodorant and instead of angelic golden eyes I'm met with big, brown doe ones.

"Hey, we're here." Bella says to me softly nudging me in the back seat of Mike's Suburban.

I groan while getting up. "Where? Hell?"

"It was only a fifteen minute drive…. You sure do fall asleep easily."

"It's a gift." I mutter, rubbing my eyes and yawning.

I'm tired. I hardly got enough sleep last night. Every time I tried to close my eyes I'd see him.

I'm quite aware that it's borderline insane. I barely know Edward yet I'm dreaming of him. And not innocent, family friendly dreams either. Just thinking about it makes me want to curl up in shame.

 _What is wrong with me?_

I look out the window to see that the car is parked in a parking lot, Mike and Jessica pulling out coolers from his trunk. The other 5 teens that rode with us are already joking around as the walk towards the beach.

"Come on, Christine and Angela are calling us over."

I follow Bella out of Mike's Suburban and I silently marvel at the beauty the beach has to offer.

It's weird. I grew up in California yet I'd never visited any of the beaches there. I'd never really gotten the chance, or a good enough reason to go. But in a way I'm greatful that First beach is the first that I got to visit. It isn't too crowded and the scenery is utterly breathtaking

It's sunny today. The grey waters almost shimmer beneath the sunlight. Little islands peak out over the motile waves, making me long for a camera or even a phone to capture the landscape.

A brisk wind comes off from the waves, cool and briny, blowing my hair against my face.

"You guys want something to eat?" Christine asks as we reach her and Angela sitting on bone coloured benches.

Bella shakes her head and I nod before clumsily catching the packet of chips that are thrown to me.

"Do you come here often?" Bella asks curiously.

Christine closes the lid of the box and slaps her hands on her knees. "Not really. We only come when the weather's decent enough."

"Which is rarely." Lauren adds as she sits down next to Angela.

"Emery has this software that tells us exactly when the weather is gonna be good. He usually checks it every Thursday for a seven day report, especially since our weather man sucks."

"Hey, don't say that about Greg. He's a good guy!" Angela says defensively.

"Oh yeah he's great. He just sucks at his job." Christine puffs out her chest and puts on a southern accent imitating the weatherman.

"Good evening Forks, I'm Greg Gadot. Y'all better keep those umbrellas opened 'cause it looks it's gonna be a wet week once again."

"That was a horrible impression." Angela says giggling into her hands.

"But it's good enough. He repeats the same report every day! Even when it's not raining!"

Lauren burst out laughing next to Angela. "She is right though."

Emery and Ben come over and with Eric's poor direction; attempt building a fire with the broken branches of driftwood they've collected.

I watch in amusement at their many failed attempts until they finally get a fire burning minutes later.

The flames that cackle aren't the usual deep orange but to my amazement are blueish green.

A few more of the kids that came with us join us around the fire and start giggling and gossiping.

I engage in some idle chatter for about half an hour until some of the guys decide that they wanted to hike to the nearby tidal pools.

"You wanna join us?" Mike asks me hopefully.

"No thanks. I'm good." Hiking and me aren't exactly the best combination. The last hike I went on was during a school trip to Runyon Canyon. I ended up tripping over a rock and spraining my ankle. Along with that, I landed in an ivy bush which gave me a nasty rash on my stomach for a week.

He nods his head and starts walking towards the hiking trail along with Jessica, Angela, Bella and a few other guys.

Most of the girls as well as Eric and Tyler stay on the beach and continue talking.

I distance myself away from the animated conversation Christine and Lauren have about some MTV presenter and continue to stare at the blue green flames.

I don't allow myself to think of **anything** else. I shake my head each time any thought surrounding him dares to sneak into my brain.

I'm so busy staring intensely at the fire that I barely even notice that more people have joined the group.

It's the teens from the reservation, and it looks like they've come to socialise. I twist around on the bench to see how many more kids have joined us.

At the same time, almost instantaneously a body drops down onto the bench I'm sitting on.

"Hey, girl." I turn around to see a skinny kid with russet colored skin and shoulder length black hair pushed behind his ears. He's wearing a large, confident smile and looks to be about 11 or 12.

"Hey." I greet him back, slightly jumpy from his swift arrival.

"Are you from Tennessee?" _Oh no_. " 'Cause you're the only 'ten' I see." He says with a wolfish smile seemingly proud of himself.

You know. Sometimes I forget that I'm actually stuck in 2005, that definitely doesn't last long.

"Seth!" A deep voice calls behind us, making the boy jump.

Seth's head jerks foward as a boy behind him violently slaps the back of it.

"You little shit! You were supposed to take on an extra shift at the store yesterday. James made cover for you, without pay. 5 more hours in that shit store and I didn't even paid for my labour." The angered boy stops his rant when he sees me sitting uncomfortably next to Seth.

"Who's this?" He asks, less heatedly.

Seth takes the opportunity to shift even closer to me, wrapping his thin arms around my waist.

"This is my lady." He answers confidently.

My eyes widden in surprise. Woop, there it is.

"Uh huh. I'm sure." He says unconvinced. "You told Leah you were coming here right?"

"She's not my keeper. I don't have to tell her about every little move I make." He replies petulantly.

"That's good then. 'Cause I heard she's on her way here with Selena, and she doesn't look too happy either."

Seth's face turns fearful. He detaches his arm from my waist and stands up quickly.

"I gotta bounce." He says apologetically to me before his small frame is running off.

"Sorry about that little twerp. He's got attachment issues." The boy says as he sits down in Seth's place.

"We just met." I say laughing.

"Yeah, not the only issues he has." He smiles.

"I'm Paul." He introduces himself.

Paul. He's one of the shifters. It was hard to tell if he'd shifted yet. His hair was cropped short, yet he didn't seem nearly as angry as I thought he would be.

"I'm Amiyah."

"You new or something?" He asks looking at my face oddly.

"Uh. No. I moved out to Forks about 3 years ago but I don't really go out a lot. I'm sorta a lone wolf." I immediately widen my eyes at my poor choice of words.

"Not an actual wolf. That would be crazy! I meant I'm a pretty closed off person. You know, it's just me myself and I. Solo ride until I die."

I am so fucking lame.

"Cool." He says simply, taking a chip from the packet of Lays I almost forgot I was holding.

"Yeah..." I say slowly, still embarrassed by my social stupidity.

"So where did you move from."

"Huh?" I ask, momentarily distracted by the hiking group coming back to the beach.

"You said you moved to Forks a few years ago. Where were you before that?"

"Oh. Uh, California."

"Woah, you must hate it here then."

He has no idea.

"It's not so bad." I lie. "It's grown on me."

"Like mold." He says, taking more chips in his large hands.

I chuckle at that. "Yeah. Kinda like mold."

We sit together for a few more minutes, talking about school and the weather in La Push compared to California.

Mike comes to us nearly half an hour later

"Hey, Amiyah have you seen Bella? It looks like it's going to rain so we're going to head back soon." Mike says after sparing a short, disapproving

glance to Paul.

I think back to when I saw her walking away with one of the boys from the res.

"Yeah, she went on a walk with Jacob I think."

"Would you mind coming with me to find her?"

I look at Paul who's already looking at the slowly retreating group he came with.

"Sure." I reply handing the nearly empty chip packet to Paul.

I get up from the bench and dust the sand off from my jeans.

"It was nice meeting you, Paul." I smile genuinely at him.

I realise that I wasn't just saying that to be polite. It really was nice talking to Paul. He was funny and whenever there was a silence left between us it was comfortable and he didn't feel the need to fill it with more chatter.

"Yeah, you too." He says, him too getting up from the bench.

Mike and I start walking in the direction I saw Bella go off with Jacob earlier.

"So, uh Amiyah. I don't think I got the chance to say sorry. You know for not really talking to you over the past few years."

Not this again. I kinda felt bad. I was making him feel guilty for something he had no control over. And he wasn't the only one who felt the need to apologise.

Angela was the

"Don't sweat it, Mike." I say nonchalantly, masking my desperate plea with mild rebuffal.

"No, really I am. You're a cool girl. And it sucks that I could have realised it sooner if I just noticed you from the beginning."

Well… that was corny.

I don't know what to say back to him, luckily I spot Bella's dark hair and small frame perching on a driftwood tree a few steps ahead of us.

I jog to her thankful to have been saved from another awkward conversation.

"Hey." I greet Jacob who is standing next to her with a cute grin. He nods politely at me.

"Bella. We're about to leave, it looks like it's going to rain." I tell her, pulling the previously rolled up sleeves of my jacket down as the cold wind sends chills through me.

"Alright." She jumps up from the tree and starts saying goodbye to Jacob.

I stare up at the darkening sky while her and Jacob end their conversation.

The walk back to the parking lot is silent, we tramp quickly across the rocks to avoid getting too wet by the fastly approaching clouds.

When we get back to the Surburban the others had already finished loading everything back in. I crawl in the backseat next to Angela and Tyler, forcing Bella to take the front seat. Angela smiles at me and continues to simply stare out the window at the escalating storm and Tyler is occupied by Lauren's incessant chatter from the middle seat, so I simply lay my head back on the seat and close my eyes and try very hard not to think.

* **Not edited. (I'm sure you can already tell.) My final exams start in about 3 weeks so wish me luck!** **Thank you _sholtsclaw698_ _GraceEllingson_** ** _BluBird_ _Sheridan111000_ and _BlossomsAtSunrise_ for reviewing Chapter 14. Reading each and everyone of them motivated me to write.** **hopefully I can update before October 24, but I'm sorry in advance if I don't**


	17. Chapter 16

_Still,_

 _I feel it inside_

 _its cage sounding_

 _a dull tattoo:_

 _I want, I want—_

 _but I can't open it:_

 _there's no key._

 _I can't wear it_

 _on my sleeve,_

 _or tell you from_

 _the bottom of it_

 _how I feel. Here,_

 _it's all yours, now—_

 _but you'll have_

 _to take me,_

 _too._

 _\- Rita Dove- Heart to Heart_.

Have you ever had one of those nights where you just can't fall asleep? And no matter how many sheep you count or lulabuysyou try and hum to yourself, sleep just won't come to you?

Yeah, I'm having one of those nights.

I turn my pillow around for the 16th time and rest my head onto the cooler side.

I've been trying to find a comfortable spot on the small bed for almost an hour now. I kept the covers on then took them off then pulled them back on again and each time I close my eyes I can't find the strength to keep them closed.

I sigh when I hear the trees rustling outside my window. I had pulled the curtains back a while ago allowing the pale streams of moonlight to shine into my room.

There's a tapping at my window. It's not rough enough to be a tree branch scratching against the glass, nevertheless I try to ignore it and start mentally reciting the Hail Mary.

A loud creak echoes through the room causing me to jolt up in bed and stare at wide-eyed in the area of the sound.

Someone is opening the window. I start to panic silently, still staring frighteningly at the window I blindly reach out to feel for the baseball bat I stashed under my bed a few days ago.

I grip tightly onto the bat when I see a figure enter my room in a blur.

I kiss my teeth irritatedly when I see just who the intruder is.

Edward's standing over my bed, staring at me apologetically. The moonlight shining behind him making him look ethereal.

I switch on the lamp on the bedside table and glare at his stupidly handsome face.

"What are you doing here?" I hiss, still trying to control my heartbeat.

He smiles charmingly at me "I wanted to talk to you."

"And you couldn't have used the front door like a normal person?"

He walks towards my closet and leans against it.

"I wasn't sure if you would have heard me knocking from up here. I'm sorry if I surpised you."

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Surprised is an understatement.

"Its fine." I grumble. " What did you want to talk about? Is it about Bella?"

"No.. Yes. Partially..." He pauses for a while.

"Have you ever been in love?"

I slightly squint my eyes, caught off guard by the unexpected question.

An image of Tristan's smiling face enters my head. Love doesn't really come to mind when I think of him. Infatuation? Sure. Lust? A bit. But Love? I honestly doubt it.

"No... Do you think you might be in love?" I try to make my voice sound nonchalant.

"I think I might be falling."

I stay quiet. I was not going to acknowledge the little pang I felt my chest when he said that so I avoid eye contact and make no attempt to fill the silence.

"Why did you take this job?" He asks after nearly a minute of silence.

"Mostly for the money." I joke, looking intently down at the bed spread. He chuckles loudly at that. The outburst surprising me yet warming me simultaneously. _God, I love his smile_. I blush furiously when I realise my slip up. I silently pray that he hadn't heard me no matter how unlikely it may be.

"I wanted to do something purposeful. I thought that if I helped you and Bella get together it would offer my life just a bit of meaning. I'm pretty invisible from where I come from."

I chew lightly on the inside of my cheek

"So I guess I just wanted to be remembered. And uh.. leave a mark on someone's life. I know I'm pretty lame and selfish."

"I don't think you're selfish." He says softly.

"Definitely lame then." I say smiling halfheartedly back at him.

"Amiyah, trust me you're none of those things." He says with conviction, his eyes holding so much intensity it feels as if they are burning a hole right through me.

"Tell me more about your life back home." He demands lightly.

I purse my lips in thought. "Well I worked at a superstore for about two years, I guess I still work there since I haven't handed in my notice. I'm a senior in highschool, you already know I'm from California and uh.. I can play the violin." I say, giving him a brief summary of my very uninteresting life.

"You play the violin?" He asks with surprise evident in his voice.

"Well, kind of. I took five lessons when I was twelve before my instructor deemed me completely hopeless and broke up with me. Not without demanding the full month's payment of course."

"She must have been a horrible instructor."

"To be fair I did break her violin strings every lesson" I wince at the image that enters my head of a twelve year old me holding a violin incorrectly and snapping a string with the bow in the middle of a poor rendition of 'Mary had a little lamb.'

He lets out another deep throaty chuckle, causing the butterflies to once again erupt in my stomach.

"You've got a really nice smile." I blurt out without thinking.

I shut my eyes tightly in embarrassment. Oh god I've ruined it.

"It's alright." He says, amused.

"Everything about me is meant to draw humans in. It's meant to assist in luring them in as prey."

My eyes widen in shock. _Well that took a quick turn._

It had slipped my mind, just for second, that Edward was in fact a vampire. Sure he wasn't the conventional kind but he was still a natural predator. So why is it that I seem to completely forget about that whenever I'm with him?

I shift uncomfortably in the bed and pull the covers back over my legs.

"How is hunting season going? Catch any wabbits?" I say in a horrible impression of bugs bunny, trying to ease the awkwardness I felt yet failing miserably.

"No. But I did catch a mountain lion just be for I came here."

"Oh wow. Was it-Uh.Enjoyable?" I cringe at my poor choice of words. I just had to open my big mouth.

He quirks his eyebrow in amusement and looks as if to be fighting a smile.

"Amiyah, I doubt you'd want to hear about how mountain lion blood tastes."

"Oh God no, I was just trying to be polite. I'd much perfer if we didnt talk about your diet thank you very much."

His lips quirk up into a smirk. "Of course." He says courteously, then coming over to my bed in a flash my eyes barely catching the movement.

He takes a seat next to me on the edge of my bed, and I try not to think about the fact that Edward is the first guy that I've ever had on my bed, let alone in my room.

"I've been wondering...What would you say if I asked you to meet my family?"

"I'd probably say no. Maybe even 'hell no' if I'm feeling jaded. Why would you want me to meet your family anyway?"

"Well, as you requested, we've formed a friendship, and I'd like for the next step in cultivating our friendship for you to meet my family. They still don't know about your secret and I won't tell them unless you ask me to, but I'd like for them to at least get to know about you."

"You're making it seem as if a filled out a whole damned request form to be your friend. Besides,"

I look down and frown. "I don't think your family would like me much."

"That's stupid. They will love you." He replies assuredly.

I send him strongest side eye I can muster. "Even Rosalie?"

"Alright, maybe not Rose. You'd be the first human I've brought over so it might take a while for her to warm up to you."

First human. I shake my head slowly. That alone could bring a whole lot of problems I won't be able to face.

"It doesn't matter anyway. Bella's supposed to be the first human you take home, it's probably best if it stays that way."

"Why?" He asks, it's now his turn to look down.

"Uh, because she's your soul mate." I say obviously.

"Is she?" He looks up at me now.

"Blood singer?" I shrug. "I don't know, I didn't really follow the franchise."

"No, Amiyah. What I'm trying to say is that I don't feel a connection to Bella."

"Yeah you do.You left town to get away from her blood, just like in the book. You gotta feel some kind of connection to her." I stress out, determined to get him to see my logic.

"Other than her blood having a hold over me, I don't feel anything else for her."

I involuntarily roll my eyes at him. "Those feelings will develop in the next chapters." I wave off.

"What if I already feel something even deeper for another?

He's staring at me with an intense, enchanting look in his eyes.

 _No way. No fucking way._

"Edward.." I start cautiously.

He cuts me of before I can say anything else.

"When we… when we kissed did you feel anything?" He asks while staring into my eyes; searching desperately for something I'm to afraid to admit to myself.

I turn my head to the wall and start gnawing on my bottom lip.

"Edward, I told you. That was a mistake. I was stupid, and irrational and impulsive." I say shaking, my heart beating so hard I can feel the vibrations through my ears.

"Did you feel anything? He repeats.

"I.. I.." I start stuttering incomprehensibly.

His cool hands gently guide my face to his, forcing my eyes to stare into his.

My breathing gets shallower as I stare at him and the feelings I'd been pushing down come to the surface.

"Can I kiss you?" He asks softly his molten eyes pooling with vulnerability.

My breath hitches when I realise I've nodded my head.

Slowly, inexorably he presses his lips to mine. It's soft, and tender and I feel like I'm burning from the inside out.

His hands caress my face, making me shiver delightfully while I lean closer into his touch.

Our lips move sensually together, igniting a warmth in my chest and drowning me in need.

My eyes flutter open when I feel the absence of his lips from my own.

I blush furiously when the weight of what we just did settles over me.

 _Fuck_.

He smiles softly at me

"You should get some sleep." He says melliflously

"I'll see you tomorrow."

Once again he uses his speed, this time to get up from my bed and exit my room through the window.

He leaves no evidence that he was here besides the buzz on my lips and the jumbled state of my mind.

I continue staring at the window he just leapt out of, my pulse still pounding in my temples and a strange feeling left lingering in my chest

I eventually fall asleep. 3 hours later. You shouldn't have to guess who's face haunts my dreams.

 **I'm sorry I updated so late. Finals are shitty and I want to cry but I've only written 3 so far and I've still got 9 more to go and I just really really despise our department of education.** **Anywho.. thanks for all the reviews on Chapter 15. If you liked it please review? It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.** **Also this has not been edited, like at all. I'm slacking and I'm sorry.**


	18. Chapter 17

_If I adore You out of fear of Hell, burn me in Hell!_

 _If I adore you out of desire for Paradise,_

 _Lock me out of Paradise._

 _But if I adore you for Yourself alone,_

 _Do not deny to me Your eternal beauty._

- _Rabia Al Basri: If I Adore You_

I don't see Edward the next day. I realise quickly through itthat it was due to the bright sun making it's rare appearance in Forks.

I assumed I wouldn't see him today either. Even though it's early the blue skies look promising enough.

I pull out the poptart from the toaster and head to the door to start my short trek to Bella's.

Twisting the door knob open, I'm surprised to see Edward standing on my porch wearing a dark grey shirt, his hands stuffed in his jean pockets.

My heart immediately does that stupid lurch it does whenever I see him.

"Hi." I greet awkwardly.

"Hey. Do you, uh want a ride to school today?" He asks sounding uncertain, as if he's unsure I'll accept.

"Uh, okay." I shrug.

"Really?" He brightens.

"Yeah. I mean you came all this way."

"Do you want to go now?"

"Can I eat my poptart in your car?" I ask seriously, holding up the bitten poptart in my hand.

"Sure."

"Then, yeah we can go now." I say, grabing the jean jacket hanging over the table and shrugging it on.

"Let's go." I say when we're seated in Edward's Volvo.

"We're not going anywhere until you have put on your seatbelt."

"Seat belt shmeatbelt." I wave off "I walk on the wild side. I laugh in the face of danger!" I start laughing maniacally.

He stares at me unblinkingly, his eyebrows slightly furrowed and his lips quirked into the smallest of smiles.

"It's Simba." I explain, waiting for the look of revelation to appear on his face. Instead he shakes his head slowly.

"From The Lion-. Never mind." I shake my head and pull the seatbelt over my chest.

"I understood the reference." He says as he starts up his engine. "You're just horrible at impressions." He says with a smirk and a debonair wink.

I pout and cross my arms over my chest. "Rude." I state.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt your feelings?" He asks smiling in a way that suggests that he's anything but apologetic.

"No." I mumble. I stare out the window at the passing trees while I nibble on my now-cold pop tart.

Through the corner of my eye I see Edward's hand reach for the car radio. Almost immediately the car is filled with a soft violin orchestration.

"Vivaldi? I question, recognizing the music piece.

"Yeah." He looks away from the road and at me in surprise. "Are you a fan of classical music?" He asks curiously.

I shrug. "Sorta. I mean I used to listen to some artisy kid's Spotify playlist while I was studying to releax.

"Spotify?" He asks, confusion laced on his face.

"2017 lingo... Sorry." I pop the rest of the tart into my mouth.

"Right. I almost forgot that you're 12 years out of your own time."

"Yup, I'm a regular anachronism."

"Big word."

"I did score slightly above average on my SATs-- not to brag or anything."

"Modesty is clearly your most astounding attribute."

I try hard to hide my smile, but I can feel the corners of my lips breaking. He sees this and chuckles as he turns his head back to the road.

"Perhaps it would be a good idea if we took a moment to properly talk." He says his eyes locked on the road.

"We're talking now." I stare straight at the tar ahead as we pull into the school.

"About us." He clarifies, his eyes are like magnets drawing mine to his when he's parked in a small space in the parking lot.

"Edward-" I say, struggling to tear my eyes away from his.

"We can discuss it after school. I can take you back home and we can talk there."

"We can't. I've got to go out with Bella, tonight." I say, almost reluctantly.

"Then tomorrow night. I'll wait as long as I have to."

His words make a shiver run down my spine.

 _Ugh. I hate him._

"Alright." I say in a quiet voice, getting lost in his strong gaze.

Our faces slowly, simultaneously move towards each other.

My lips are a breath away from his now, almost bridging the gap until the shrill bell rings, jolting me away from him.

"Wow, look at the time." I pull up my jacket to look at the imaginary watch on my wrist. "I've gotta go, don't want to be late for.. class."

I pull the door handle open and not waiting for his response I slide out of the car and walk quickly into the building.

 _God, I'm such a pussy._

The school day drags on uneventfully with very little excitement.

When the bell rings, signalling the end of the day I nearly sigh in relief.

Bella catches me in the parking lot and we head off to her house.

We end up looking for her purse for nearly an hour before we can leave. She finally finds it stashed underneath one of the couch cushions.

"So where are we off to?" I ask when we've both entered her truck.

"A Quileute bookstore in town. I got the directions off the internet." She says before starting her engine and pulling out of her driveway.

I stay quiet. The atmosphere in the car seems tense. Or maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just feeling guilty that I made out with her future vampire husband. Twice.

 _Oh god, I'm a terrible person. I am a terrible person._

"Amiyah." She calls, pulling me out of my self- degradation.

"Yeah?" I turn away from the window to look at her.

"Is it normal for the Cullens to be out of school a lot?

"I wouldn't know." I say simply shrugging.

She looks unsatisfied with my answer. Her bottom lip is bearing the brunt of it as she chews furiously on it, staring intensly at the road with furrowed brows.

I sigh internally. I'm a temporary local, sure Bella's not aware of the temporary part, but she probably thought I have all the juice on the Cullens like a typical local would.

"I mean. Yeah. When the weather is good they go backpacking all the time -- even the doctor. They're all real outdoorsy." I say, stealing the dialogue from the book I've read almost 10 times this week.

"Oh." She replies, looking less antsy.

A few short minutes later we pull up to the front of a small brickfaced store.

We walk in together, a bell above the door ringing as we enter.

The store is illuminated in a light orange glow from the very few lamps situated on the walls; which are painted a warm beige. There's a couple arguing quietly near a bookshelf, but other than them the store is empty; there are no workers to be seen anywhere not even behind the large oak desk holding the cash register.

"Do you want to get anything?" Bella asks politely.

"No, I'm good. I'll just wait here until you're done." I sit down on the worn, yellow plush couch near the exit.

She nods and then wanders off into a row of bookshelves, leaving me to count the number of planks on the varnished wooden floor.

30 minutes later and Bella still hasn't found whatever it is she's looking for, I've resulted to reading the Us Weekly magazine laying on the small table beside me dated from May 2002.

Another 30 minutes roll by and Bella still hasn't resurfaced. I wonder shortly if I should check on her, but the article on Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston keeps me glued to the couch.

Through the corner of my eye I see a familiar mop of brown hair approach me.

"Hey," I look up from the magazine to say. "You found what you were looking for?"

"Yeah," she holds up a brown, hard cover book with an intricate design on the front. "I think I left my purse in my truck though. Can you check if there's anyone here to ring this up while I'm out?" She says, placing the book on the table next to me.

"Sure." I say to her, grabbing the book and getting up from couch.

She sends a quick "Thanks." My way before she walks quickly out of the shop.

With the book in my hands I walk up to the register and ring on the small, silver bell on the table.

As soon as the shrill sounds are emitted a russet skinned boy with dark hair walks out from a door through the back.

Paul.

"I'm sorry about that, we're understaffed and I was just checking stock in the back." He stops to look at me oddly. "Hey, It's you!"

"Yeah... Amiyah." I remind him with a smile.

"I remember. Are you looking for a book?"

"Actually, my friend is. She just went out to get her purse."

"Pale chick? Brown hair? Green sweater?" He opens the cash register and starts counting the float.

I frown at the very specific description of Bella.

"How'd you know that?" He looks up at me after closing the register and throws his thumb behind him to point at a conspicuously placed security camera in the corner of the ceiling.

"There's about 5 of them placed around the store and they're all hooked to the tv in the back. Your friend sure took her time finding whatever it is she was looking for."

"Shit. That's some extreme measures to take for a bookstore."

"What can I say, the owner takes security very seriously." He flashes me a warm smile.

"No kidding." I mutter.

I turn around when I feel a body walk up behind me. Bella's holding up her brown purse with a look of triumph on her face.

"Found it." She says, pulling out a couple of notes from her wallet. I place the book on the table and slide it over to Paul.

"You into quileute legends?" Paul asks as he scans the inside of the book for the price.

"You can say that." She answers vaguely.

He leans closer to her. "Well let me let you in on an insider secret."

She leans close, intrigued.

"It's all bullshit." He laughs at the look of irritation on her face.

Her face turns red, I'm not sure if it's because of anger or embarrassment. But it's clear to see Bella is not amused.

"Thanks" she says as he hands her the packet.

"What a jerk." She mutters when we leave the store. It's dark now. The street lights illuminate the streets.

I chuckle finding her obvious annoyance amusing.

"He's just a kid," I try to defend.

"He looks like a full grown man." She begins looking through her purse for her keys.

"He's 15."

She looks up at me, her eyes wide in surprise. "No way--Hey, does that car look familiar to you?" Bella says pointing to the only other car in the parking lot, parked a few spaces away from Bella's.

"Crap. I'll be right back." I say before I start walking quickly to the sleek silver Volvo.

I tap lightly on the tinted window and wait patiently for it to roll down. I'm no way in the slightest surprised when I see Edward's pale face appear.

"Hello." He says sauvely as if there was nothing odd about his actions.

"What are you doing here? I know you're supposed to be following Bella and all but this is borderline creepy." I say in a low voice.

"I wasn't following Bella." He says with his eyebrows knitted.

I roll my eyes unconvinced. "Yeah? What were you following? The colours of the wind?"

"Is it so hard for you to believe that I was worried about you? I just wanted to make sure you got home safe."

I scoff. "Right, because Forks is such a dangerous place. You shouldn't even be worrying about me."

"I can't help it." His amber eyes look darker, yet the same knee weakening effect is still there, trust me.

I glare it him, angry at the effect he had on me. "Well try."

He has the audacity to roll up his window, making my middle finger start to twitch in irritation. I step back, prepared to throw up both as an exit, but then his door opens and my eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"What the hell are you doing?" I say following his large strides as he starts walking to the spot Bella stands against her truck.

Bella visibly straightens when she sees who's walking in her direction and tries(and fails) to inconspicuously fix her hair and sweater.

"Hello,Bella." Edward's smooth voice greets the flustered brunette.

"Uh.. hi. Hi, Edward." Bella stammers, raising her hand to give a small wave.

"Stay with it girl." I want to say when I see her face start to pink and her lip start to descend between her teeth.

"Would you mind if I took Amiyah home? I'd like to speak with her about our history project." I whip my head to look at him incredulously. He didn't even bother to ask me first.

Bella visibly dulls. She releases her lip from her teeth and looks as if to be fighting a frown.

"Yeah. No I don't mind." She says, less enthusiastically. Garnering some sympathy from me. Great, here I go inadvertently ruining her life.

He offers her one of his charming smiles that never fails to leave me breathless, and although it isn't directed at me this time is no exception.

"I'll see you at school." I shout out to her while she climbs into her truck.

When Bella's truck is out of view I slowly turn around to see Edward wearing a small, self-satisfied smirk. "Just so you know, I'm speaking calmly but an burning anger has been ignited in me that won't be extinguished by your stupidly handsome grins." I say in a level tone.

I ignore his chuckles behind me as I start walking towards his Volvo.

His driving, steady and constant eventually calms me down. The soft Prince songs playing through the radio station that was obviously having a Prince tribute sure helped too.

The eighth Prince song starts playing and instead of drumming my fingers on my lap along to the beat my face starts to scrunch in confusion.

I should be home by now. In fact I should have been home a long time ago.

I look up from my lap to look through the windshield to see where we are exactly.

 _This isn't Forks._ I note. Inspecting the fast-moving lights along a boardwalk.

I'm about to ask where we are when Edward beats me to the punch.

"We're in Port Angeles." He says, parallel parking into the parking lot of an Italian restaurant.

"I thought you said you wanted to talk?" I accuse, staring him dead in the eye.

"I do, but I presumed you'd be hungry." He replies easily, exiting the car quickly.

Before I can reach for my own door handle, Edward has opened it for me.

I tentatively slide out of the seat and wait for him to close the door behind me. "Edward Cullen." I look at him suspiciously.

"Are you trying to seduce me with food?" I confront.

He throws his head back in laughter. "Believe me, if seducing you was my intention taking you out for dinner would not be the first step.

His cool hand rests on my lower back, leading me through the restaurant.

 **Welp. I'm not going to lie and say that I edited this. because I didn't ._. But hey, it's my birthday today! I'm officially 18. Unfortunately I've got to study for my Biology exam. Thank you for all the reviews! They are amazing and they make me feel great! Another update will come soon... hopefully**


	19. Chapter 18

_We have come to the cross-roads_

 _And I must either leave or come with you_

 _I lingered over the choice_

 _But in the darkness of my doubts_

 _You lifted the lamp of love_

 _And I saw in your face_

 _The road that I should take._

 _The Mesh- Kwesi Brew_

Is hatred at first sight a thing? It has to be. One look from our waitress, Amber, and I knew, I knew that bitch wanted to gauge out my eyes and serve them to me on a platter.

It's the little things that express her hatred; the way her upper lip slightly curled whenever she'd look at me, her intense eye rolls after I'd speak,the way she'd only address Edward I mean shit, he doesn't even eat real food.

"What would you like to drink?" She asks Edward, pushing her chest foward and batting her eyelashes in a way which I suppose is meant to be seductive.

I doubt the look of irritation is hidden well on my face. Am I completly invisible to her? Who flirts with someone while they're on a date? Okay so this isnt a date, and yeah Edward and I arent actually together, but she doesn't have to know that.

It's not like he's doing much to discourage her either. With each polite smile and silky smooth reply she blushes like a preteen in front of a crush. You don't have to be telepathic to figure that she's planning their wedding in her head.

"We'll have a bottle of your finest wine." I say irritatedly, wanting to put a dent in Edward's wallet.

"What?" She asks. Her bright smile faltering when she turns to face me.

I place my arm on the table and search for Edward's hand. Once I find it, I grip my hand as tightly as I can in his. I nearly smirk in triumph when I see Amber's eyes set distastefully on our interlocked fingers.

"It's our anniversary and my husband and I would like to celebrate with a bottle of your most expensive,exquisite wine." I say, putting emphasis on 'husband' and relishing in her uncomfortable state.

I send Edward a hard look and ignore his amused smirk. 'Play along'.

Perhaps some finely aged Château Latour." He says winsomely, pronouncing the french words seamlessly and sending her one of his famous smiles. "Such a special occasion warrants for some splurging."

Her face scrunches up and with her pen and notepad in her hands she moves her arms to to her sides.

"I'm sorry, but aren't you a bit too young?" She asks looking down at my Sesame Street tee then back up to me with distrustful eyes.

My jaw unwillingly sets in annoyance. Is it the Elmo shirt? Does she think I look too immature for a guy like Edward?

I remove my hand from Edward's and cross my arms across my chest. "Age ain't nothing but a number okay? So what if we don't reach your and society's image of the perfect couple. My husband and I are in love, an emotion I'm sure you are unfamiliar with, but it does not depend on one's maturity or other's perception of maturity Maybe instead of judging the couples you're meant to be serving you could try actually doing your job." I huff out.

She looks at me the way I used to look at problematic customers at Kings. I have no clue why. I am no problematic customer.

"I meant are you old enough to drink alcohol?" She asks slowly.

I blink. Oh. Oh right. Alcohol...I can feel my anger slowly sizzle out only to be replaced with crippling embarrassment.

Edward chooses now to speak up, the little smirk playing across his lips giving an indication that he knew exactly what Amber meant before I made a complete idiot of myself.

"We're both of the legal drinking age. Would you like to see some identification?" He makes a move to reach into his jean pockets.

"No, that won't be necessary." She smiles at him again, although notably less enthusiastically.

"And to eat?" She looks at me cautiously.

I nearly smile in satisfaction . At least my little rant(no matter how delusional) made her realise that there's more than one person sitting at this table.

I look down at the menu then back up at her. "Lasagne, heavy on the cheese." She nods while scribbling my order down on her notepad. She looks up at Edward expectantly.

"Nothing for me thanks." He replies while staring at me.

"I'll be right back with your wine." She says with a smile.

"Do you think she'll spit in my food?" I ask when she's gone.

He smiles. "She's strongly considering it. But I doubt she has the guts to go through with it."

"I've got to say.I've never seen you jealous before." He smirks widely at me. "I quite like it."

I kiss my teeth irritatedly. "I was not jealous. If anything I was saving you. She looked like she was about to break out into a full strip routine once you flashed her another smile."

"Then I suppose I should be thanking you." He says through his chuckles.

"Profusely but you can do that later. You said you wanted to talk, so talk."

"Sure. but first, maybe have a glass of this fine wine you requested." He says as Amber returns carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses on a tray.

She offers us both polite smiles and encourages us to enjoy the wine before telling us that my food would arrive shortly.

I look tentatively at the wine and wait before Amber leaves before I lean in closer to Edward.

"Uh, you see I wasn't really planning on drinking the wine, I just wanted to piss off the waitress a little bit." I say in a hushed whisper.

Edward smiles knowingly. "I figured." He stopped to look at me suspiciously. "Why are you whispering?"

I stop whispering, but my voice remains low. "I don't want to offend anyone else. Like a manager, or heck, even poor Amber."

"Oh, now she's 'Poor Amber'?" He asks his golden eyes moving to mine.

I straighten back up and nod at him.

"I may have been I bit too harsh on her. Working in customer service sucks. Plus it isn't like I was any better around Tristan and his girlfriends. Talk about a double standard am I right."

I say before I grab a bread stick from the basket in the centre of the table and bite into it.

Edward frowns in confusion. "Tristan?" He asks while watching me chew the bread.

I nod, my mouth still full. "Who's Tristan?" He asks once I've swallowed my bite.

"Just this guy I've been in love with for about 6 years." I say without thought.

"Is he your boyfriend?" A small frown adorns his lips.

I scoff. "Uh. No... he barely knows I exist." I grab another bread stick and nibble on it.

"Yet you're in love with him?" His frown deepens.

"Love wasn't the right word to use. More like intense infatuation." I shrug, suddenly feeling awkward.

"Do you still want to be with him?" He asks slowly.

I feel my face and ears heat and I try not to appear flustered. "Jeez, Edward. What's up with the third degree? I thought you wanted to talk to me not play the interrogation game."

"Of course. I would just like to know, that's all"

"Please." He adds once he sees I've remained silent.

"No. No I don't want to be with him anymore." I start to gnaw on the inside of my cheek.

"Do you... Do you want to be with me?"

My breathing stops.

"E-Edward." I stutter, trying to stop him from taking the conversation there.

"I have feelings for you Amiyah. Feelings I can't just erase or push to the side. I know you must feel something for me too. I don't want to keep fighting this. I want to be with you."

I can feel my heart melting at his confession. He has feelings for me. He wants to be with me. I want to smile stupidly as a mount of happiness explodes in me.

Edward Cullen wants to be with me- Fuck. My head clears as it hits me. Edward isn't a normal teenage and this isn't a teenage romance story... Well, it's not my teenage romance story.

"We can't be together. You're supposed to be with Bella and I'm supposed to be back home, and.. And it just can't happen Edward."

"Why not?" He asks desperately. "Because of that book? I am not going to let it dictate my future." He says with conviction.

I place the bread stick onto my plate "Okay fine, let's forget about Twilight for now. The fact still remains that I don't belong in this world. I'm just a temporary factor in your life."

"Do you think that hasn't crossed my mind? I've been waiting centuries for what I thought I would feel when I found my mate."

Mate? He's got to be mistaken? A lump moves down my throat. I feel my eyes padlocking themselves to his, falling into the emotion on his face. The strength in his eyes don't leave mine. Never have I seen anybody so sure of words leaving their mouths.

"I imagined euphoria. A rush. Adoring her so much to share eternity with her."

"Edward..." I could barely hear my own whispered voice.

"For centuries I wondered if I was even capable of it, if I was even worthy of it. Until the first night we kissed. Then it hit me. With you it's not euphoria... it's nirvana. It's not a rush... it's a surge."

He clasps his hands gently in mine, his eyes are fervid and send chills down my spine with their intensity. "Amiyah, for you I would abandon eternity."

Oh God, I've done it. I've fucked things up big time. I don't even know how I did it. Do I even regret it?

"You can take as much time as you need to think about it, I'll give you your privacy. But you should know that if you choose to be with me what we have may be temporary, but I'm willing to savour every moment I get to have with you."

His voice comes out deep, I feel like I've been left in a high. I can't think straight even if I want to. His words flood my senses and throughout the rest of dinner I work on autopilot. I eat the lasagne in small bites, hardly tasting anything.

I don't look up when Edward starts driving us back to Forks. I stare down at my lap and let his words consume me.

Do I love Edward? I don't know. I don't know what love feels like. I do have feelings for him though, pretty strong ones too. But is it worth it?Loving him just to leave him? I've already sunken so deep, for weeks I've been ignoring the obvious between us.

Fuck it. I'm his mate.

When we pull up at my home I've made my choice.

"Hey... You can come inside. If you want." I say, trying to hide the nervous shake in my voice.

He gives nods wordlessly and follows my nervous steps to my front porch, silently watching me fumble with the door keys.

When I've successively unlocked the front door I open it wide enough to allow Edward in after me. He gently shuts the door behind him and walks over to join me sitting on the only couch I have in the living room. I momentarily get distracted by his eyes. It's like I could stare into his eyes for hours and not even care if the room was on fire... or feel it burning

I shut my eyes tightly and try to focus. Once I've regained my trail of thought I reopen my eyes and face Edward bravely, proud with my choice.

"Yes... Yeah, I want to bet with you too, Edward."

 **Waddup. Guess who's finally finished with high school? It's been a long ride, now all thats left is my results for university. I'm going to try update more frequently during December and hopefully I'll be finished with book 1 before February. Thank you for all the follows favourites and reviews! I appreciate every single one!**


	20. Chapter 19

_And I'll take some time_

 _Just to be thankful_

 _That I had days full of you, you_

 _Before it winds down into_

 _The memories, It's all just memories_

 _Daniel Caeser feat Kali Uchis - Get You_

I'd convinced myself that last night was a dream. Some wonderfully concocted hallucination brought on by a lack of vitamin D or something.

But there are some things that I just can't make up. Like his smell. There was no way that I'd ever be able to dream that up on my own.

I dress in heavy clothes after noticing the dark grey skies that had returned to Forks.

I don't run downstairs like I usually do, this morning by some miracle I'd managed to wake up early so I reward myself with a bowl of Lucky Charms.

I slowly chew on my lucky charms and let my mind wander. After finishing my bowl of cereal, I place the bowl in the sink and start humming a random tune while washing the plate.

I'm pulled out of my temporary tranquil state by a knocking at the door.

I walk up to the front door and pull it open. I can hardly suppress the smile that starts creeping up my face.

"Hey," I smile at him warmly. "Are you going to school today?"

"Yeah...The sun's no longer out." Edward says simply before moving closer to me.

He gently grabs my waist with his one arm and swiftly captures my lips with his soft ones.

Stunned, yet buzzed by the unexpected kiss I start to reciprocate, getting high off his very presence.

 _God, why had I denied this before? Everything feels so right with him._

He slowly pulls his lips away and looks at me with dark whiskey coloured eyes and a large grin.

I grin goofily back at him and tuck my hair behind my ear bashfully "Heyyy." I say to him dazedly. Feeling hot despite being held in his cool embrace.

He chuckles before nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck and wrapping both of his arms around me.

"Hi." He says huskily into my neck.

I breathe in his scent and try to fight urge to start sniffing him. Yup. I definitely didn't make last night up.

"Uh let me go get my.. uh." I lose my train of thought as his body temperature sends shivers down my spine.

"Bag." He offers.

"Right." I say dazedly. "My bag."

He slowly moves his head away from my neck and unhooks his arms from my back and I reluctantly move out of his embrace to move back into the kitchen to fetch my satchel on the table.

I steady my breathing and heartbeat before I start walking back to the door, at the rate it was going one would have sworn that I just ran a marathon.

"Ready" I say to Edward with a large smile when I return to him.

He smiles softly back at me and takes my bag from my shoulder to carry to his car.

We drive in silence for a few minutes until Edward turns to look at me with a lazy smile on his face. His eyes shining a lighter gold now.

"What?" I ask him curiously.

"What's your favourite colour?" He asks, his eyes lingering on my face before turning back to face the road.

I furrow my eyebrows amusedly. "That's pretty random."

"We don't know how much time we may have with each other, I want to know as much as I can about you in the moments we have." He says seriously.

"Including my favourite colour?" I raise my eyebrow at him.

"Especially your favourite colour."

"Red." I say without much thought. "It reminds me of Christmas, which I'm sure you would like to know too, is my favourite holiday.

"How do you spend Christmas?"

I start to smile "When I was younger My mom and I would spend Christmas at my grandma's house every year. She'd invite all my aunts, uncles and cousins for this huge dinner. It was great! By the end of the night my aunt and her husband would be drunk as hell, singing along to Mariah Carey's Christmas album, the deluxe edition of course and eating all the leftover pie. My mom has been pretty busy so we haven't been there in about five years."

"You've never mentioned your father. Is he..."

"Oh no." I stop him, realising where his words were trailing. "There's no big story there. He got my mother pregnant in college and split before I was born. It has not been confirmed if I have daddy issues yet." I scrunch up my nose. " How old are you again?"

"I was turned in 1918, a few months after I turned 17." He replies.

I widen my eyes in surprise. "Wow. I figured you were old but not first world war old."

"This goes way beyond daddy issues.I think I'm too young for you." I say jokingly.

"You're perfect for me."

Lifting my eyes to his I see that he's serious. His eyes, still bright, have once again darkened and stilled. Warmth fills me and I start to feel flushed in my seat.

We arrive at school shortly and save for about 2 or 3 cars I'm surprised to see an empty lot.

"Are we early?" I ask after exiting his car and looking around the school's parking lot.

"A bit." He grabs my bag from the backseat then proceeds to close the door. "I thought maybe you'd want to keep the whispering and stares to a bare minimum."

I smile at his thoughtfulness. "I don't care." I say softly before leaning in to give him a light kiss.

"You're the best vampire boyfriend a gal could ask for." I say, putting on a southern accent and batting my eyelashes.

Edward's torso vibrates as his laughter fills my ears. "You're the strangest human I know." He says between chuckles.

I pout playfully and release myself from his arms. "Well to be fair. You don't know many humans."

 ** _…………………_**

The dance is Saturday. Which means that the dance commitee has once again been given a period off to prepare for the dance.

They're also planning on staying after school on Friday to set up the hall, but I'm high key planning on ditching to watch reruns of 'Family Matters.'

The committee is sprawled out across the Gym hall, which isn't the biggest considering Forks High only has like 20 students.

Christine and I sit on the stands, me doing a poor job of untangling fairy lights while Christine, who somehow got out of actually doing any work, is painting her nails a bright fuchsia.

"So do you know how I'm like, never late?" Christine's tells me as she strokes the nailpolish across her thumb.

I shrug not really getting where she's going.

"Well, I was this morning. My brother forgot that he was driving me to school and slept in. When I got here the whole school couldn't stop talking about the latest scoop. Lauren and the others filled me in, but I wanted to confirm it with you."

She looks at me expectantly while I stare blankly back at her.

"So is it true?" She asks impatiently after a minute of silence.

"What?" I blink in confision.

"That you and Edward are a thing?"

 _Well…damn._

"Where'd you get that from?" I stare wide eyed at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Jess told me that Eric saw you two driving in together." She blows on her nails without removing her gaze from me.

"Yeah, He was giving me a ride to school. That doesn't mean we're dating." I laugh nervously while continuing to untangle the fairy lights.

"She told me you two were making out against his car."

My skin immediately begins to burn in embarrassment.It was barely a peck!

"Well- uh you see-" I stutter out.

"Amiyah!" Someone calls my name from across the hall. I look around to see who it is and see Mike holding a large box that has 'streamers' written across it in black sharpie.

I nearly sigh in relief at the save. Mike walks to us with a spring in his step. His blue eyes shining with excitement when he reaches us.

"Hey, guys. Did you hear? Mr James got dumped last night. Tyler says that he's been taking out his anger on each grade and giving every one of his classes super hard pop quizzes."

"That's hectic." I say in mock interest.

"Oh that's not the only news that's travelling around school, is it Amiyah?" Christine asked me sarcastically.

"Uh. I heard the front office got a new printer."

She gives me a hard look and I crack under the pressure. "Okay, fine. Yes, Edward and I are dating." I relent.

Christine and Mike give very different reactions to my admission. Christine lets out a sharp, excited squeal and proceeds to admit that she 'knew that there was something up between the two of you.' While Mike looks as if someone just told him his favourite band were breaking up.

"You're dating Cullen? He's a total ass! You could do so much better, Amiyah." Mike tries to reason with me, going as far to even place his hand on my shoulder.

"Like you're any better?" Christine quipped, rolling her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean,Christine?" Mike faces her with hostility.

"It means that you're an asshole, Michael."

"Are you still angry about yesterday?"

"You spilled your Capri Sun over my paris Hilton jeans."

"I apologised!"

"Your apology meant shit!"

Their argument continues for the rest of the period. When the bell rings I nearly run out of of the hall mentally exhausted from their banter and longing for lunch.

But outside the double doors of the Gym, leaning against the walls is Edward looking like he just finished shooting an ad for Versace.

"Hey, stranger." I smile at him broadly. "Call me out if I'm wrong, but are you stalking me?" I say jokingly, starting a walk to the cafeteria.

He laughs as he walks next to me. "As exciting as that sounds. No. Your thoughts are very loud. I could hear you all the way in Algebra. You really like show tunes, huh?"

Edward doesn't know what he's started. My eyes widen and I start to grin excitedly. "I love them! My love for musical theatre started after I watched a production of Annie in third grade. The acting was horrible, but it sparked my desire to learn more.I wanted to audition for my school's production of Cinderella that year, but I realised quickly that I can't carry a note to save my mama's life, so I stuck admiring that shit from afar. I've never actually seen a Broadway musical live but I've watched almost 100 bootlegs on YouTube. Wait has YouTube been created yet? I doubt it, the internet's like 2 years old isn't it? "

I don't pay attention to Edward grabbing a tray for me, I hadn't even realised that we'd entered the crowded cafeteria, I do however notice almost everyone's eyes on me and Edward as we sit down at a table in a corner.

"You weren't kidding about the whispers and stares huh? One would think it's Kanye and Kim the way these kids are watching us. Never mind, more like Kim and Ray Jay, they're together now aren't they? Eh..You wouldn't know, I'm sure that now they're both as irrelevant as Ray Jay's career is in my time." I stop myself and look at Edward's attentive gaze.

"I've been rambling haven't I? I'm sorry I do that sometimes."

"Don't apologise. I like listening to you talk." He says in a light tone.

"Even if I don't understand half of the things that you say." He says with a deep laugh.

"Okay! It's your turn to talk." I ask the first question that comes to my mind."What do you prefer? Sunrises or sunsets?"

"Sunsets". He says without resistance.

"God, that is such a vampire thing to say." I roll my eyes playfully at him.

He chuckles. "I'll have you know, the myth about Vampires preferring the night time is completely false. My mother would gladly debunk that theory for you. I just find the night more calming. It's more quiet at night. It's also easier to hunt in the dark. Our senses are enhanced for us to catch our prey."

"I have another question. Do your siblings hate me?" I say lowly, noticing the death stare a certain blonde haired Hale was serving me from across the room.

"Of course they don't hate you. Rose might seem a bit… callous, but she's just worried. They all are. It's not common for us to be as close to humans as I am to you, and they are unsure to how this might end for me. They don't want to see me get hurt."

My chest warms."That's really sweet, Edward. What's it like? Having brothers and sisters?"

"Tiring," He says seriously despite the mirth shining in his eyes. "Even more so that we can't sleep. I suppose I do love them though."

"You suppose?" I laugh at his false apathy. "I would have done anything to have a brother or sister when I was growing up. When I was younger I had an imaginary sister. As sad as it seems Anika was my best friend throughout my childhood... I've always had a little bit of trouble making friends." I admit sheepishly.

"Now that I find hard to believe. You're pretty much Miss Popular around these halls . You'd be surprised how many get awestruck when you pass by. Amiyah Walters: Daughter of a hotshot producer, she who rubs shoulders with celebrities. It's honestly a humbling experience to be in your presence."

I giggle. "Now you're exaggerating."

"I wish I were. Newton's one of your biggest admirers. He's been staring me down this whole time, waiting for me to pounce on you. He hasn't thought of what he'd do if I did attack you. But somehow in his head you end up in his arms and I'm nowhere to be seen." He says bitterly.

"Edward Cullen." I can't hide the amusement in my voice. "Are you jealous?"

"Of Mike Newton? Of course not." He says unconvincingly.

"You're totally jealous." I laugh as I prop my chin on my hand and lean close. Tell me, how does the shoe fit?"

"It-" he pauses, the smile etched on his face dims quickly into a scowl. He stiffens and locks his gaze onto the table top. He looks uncomfortable almost like he's in pain.

I furrow my brows, confused to what has got him in such a state. That is untill I see Bella walking nervously towards our table.

Understanding immediately fills me. Trying to comfort him I place my hand gently over his arm. The same arm that he's using to grip under the edgeof the table.

The muscles in his arm slightly slacken so I catch his gaze to give him a small assuring smile.

Bella stops at the table and looks at the both of us with an unreadable expression

"Amiyah, can I talk to you?" She asks in a friendly tone.

"Yeah." I plan on getting up to talk to Bella somewhere far from here but Edward beats me to the punch.

"I'll give you two your privacy." Edward says abrasively before leaving the cafeteria quickly.

I let out a small sigh of relief. It's short-lived as Bella starts to speak.

"I heard that you're dating Edward?" She asks, her doe eyes looking at me curiously.

 _Damn, girl_. _No beating around the bush._

"Yeah.." I say slowly, trying to asses how she feels about it.

"Is that cool with you?"

"Absolutely." She says almost too cheerfully to be considered genuine. "I just didn't know that you liked him."

"Believe me. Neither did I." I mumble to myself.

"Well. I'm happy for you she says in a strained voice.

"Just be careful around him. Okay?" She says cryptically.

"What do you mean?" I immediately start to act defensive.

"I.. I think Edward may be hiding something big about himself and his family. Something… dangerous." She whispers the last part.

I'm speechless.

Bella stands up to start going. "Be careful, alright?" She says before leaving.

I get up. Extremely blindsided by Bella's caution. She knows. Of course she'd find out. It was all part of the storyline. The storyline I'd screwed up.

Bella's words ring in my head as I search for Edward in the halls. ' _Be careful'_.She knows that there's something up with the Cullens. How soon will it be until she finds out the truth? Bella's not stupid, it's inevitable that she'll see the Cullens for what they really are. What will she do? What will that mean for me and Edward?

I find him leaning against a locker looking irritable and tense yet no less handsome.

"Hey." I approach him cautiously. "Are you okay?" His frame relaxes once I reach him.

"I'm sorry about how I acted in there."

"You don't have to apologise. If there was a bucket of buffalo wings in front of me I definitely wouldn't have had the restraint that you did... That's a bad analogy. What I'm trying to say is that your control back here was pretty admirable. I have no idea what it must be like for you, having something so tempting so close, but I know that it can't be easy and you should be proud of yourself for keeping it together." I place my hand on his arm comfortingly.

"You know, I'm starting to think that you're a bit too perfect for me."

"Just a bit?" I ask jokingly, walking back with him to the cafeteria.

 ** _Weird part to end it on, but eh I barely had time to put this together_** ** _Remember when I thought I was making Edward ooc? Yeah, I'm 100% sure now._** ** _I know I said that I'll be updating more frequently, but these past few weeks have been hell. I will definitely try and update when I get the chance._** ** _Please review and follow?_** ** _Happy Holidays! And Merry Christmas Eve!_**


	21. Chapter 20

_With every passing moment_

 _Thoughts of you run through my head_

 _Every time that I'm near you_

 _I realize that you're heaven sent_

 _Tamia- So Into You_

To an observer it would seem that Edward was deeply engrossed in the book in his hands. But if one took the time to thoroughly asses his situation they'd take notice that he had been on the same page of a relatively short novel for the past hour, and if one looked even closer they would see how his eyes weren't even focused on the page he was on, instead they were glazed over as if he were reliving a memory, or deep in thought.

Edward had initially set out to read the book he randomly pulled out from his bookcase, but each time he'd begin to concentrate a picture of Amiyah laughing at something he had said would slither into his head and he'd be forced to break his concentration.

Him and Amiyah had officially been together for only 3 months yet Edward couldn't even begin to imagine a life without her. So he didn't. He expelled any thought of Amiyah's impending departure and focused solely on the time that they were together.

He'd never been in love before, but he knew that was what he was feeling now- what he had been feeling for months, ever since he first met Amiyah. When they were apart, he thought of her practically every minute. When they were together, he never wanted to be anywhere else. And he knew that her happiness and safety were more important to him than his own.

It was an exuberant feeling; love. He finally understood why people couldn't stop talking singing and writing about the emotion.

He found his own fingers itching to create something, anything, that would be a testament to these unfamiliar, yet not unwelcomed, emotions he was experiencing.

He briefly wondered if Alice would allow him to use her pencil set. He hadn't drawn leisurely since the 60's, yet a need to see Amiyah's face materialize beneath his fingers grew immensely.

His thoughts were interrupted by Esmè's as she entered the living room, in what would appear to the human eye as a blur, searching for her car keys.

"Good evening." He greeted Esmè warmly, looking up from the book that he was pretending to be reading from.

She smiled at him sweetly and grabbed the keys from the table "Edward. You're still here? I thought you boys made plans to go hunting tonight."

"We'll be leaving soon. We've just been a bit delayed by Emmett, he's been looking for his Cubs cap for the last thirty minutes." He explained to his mother.

"He lost it again?" She asked in surprise.

"Yeah, third time this month."

"You know, He might just be the only vampire in existence with such a bad memory. And I mean that in the most concerned way possible."

"I don't doubt you mean it in any other way." He grinned at his mother's good-nature.

She smiled softly back at him.

"Do me a favour, Edward? Go help your brother, I'm sure that he will appreciate it. I'd do it myself but I promised your father that I'd visit him before his night shift started, and I don't really think Rose is in the best of moods right now."

"Of course."

He began a slow trek up to Emmett and Rosalie's shared room.

So preoccupied with his own thoughts He almost didn't see Rose storm out of the room before he could reach it.

He could tell that she was in a bad mood. Her thoughts were irritable and he could almost see the smoke coming out from her ears.

He figured she was angry because she hadn't fed in awhile. Rose had never been the most tolerable person when she was hungry, so Edward found it best to stay out of her way whenever she was in this mood.

The two siblings crossed paths, Edward hoping that his sister wouldn't project her anger onto him and Rosalie noting something different about her brother.

"You smell of her, you know." She remarked snarkily pausing near the top of the staircase to chastise Edward.

He tried hard not to sigh or roll his eyes, knowing that even the slightest display of his exasperation would set Rose off even further. He turned around dejectedly and faced her wearily.

"Don't you have somewhere to be? Perhaps off scaring children?" He quipped.

"How cute. I wonder if your little human 'mate' appreciates your terrible sense of humour."

Edward didn't miss the way Rose's voice dripped with malice when she mentioned his mate, but frankly he was not willing to get into yet another verbal match with his sister today.

"What should it matter to you?" He asks "I'm aware that even the thought of me finding happiness repulses you beyond belief, but perhaps you could keep your toxic opinions to yourself, just this once." He retorted

"Contrary to popular belief I do want to see you happy, Edward. I just don't want your happiness to be at the expense of our family." Her tone was less malevolent but he was unconvinced.

"Amiyah would never try to put anyone's life in jeopardy." He said convictedly.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh I am sure that your pitiful little human couldn't hurt a fly." She said, sarcasm dripping heavily off her words. "Have you forgotten that our entire family could be implicated if your little love story ends badly?"

"It won't." He assured her simply.

Rose growled at what she thought was her brother's naivety. She couldn't believe he truly thought that his relationship with the human would work out.

Edward couldn't block out his sister's offensive thoughts directed towards him even if he tried.

He watched impassively as her left eye began to twitch, if Edward didn't any know any better he'd think that she were about to suffer a stroke.

"Whatever, jackass." She spat out, twisting her body away from him and stomping downstairs in a turbulent haze, if the rest of their family wasn't aware of Rose's bad mood they sure were now.

'What an idiot.' He heard her mind sputter finally before the front door slammed with a shut.

He shook off his sister's remarks, He wouldn't let her bring down his high... not again.

The forest sky was a dark charcoal, illuminated by the constellations that sprinkled across the night sky. Tossing the drained deer carcass, his second that night, into a ditch, he hurriedly shovelled dirt and rocks over it with his hands, burying the evidence.

He got up and dusted his hands on his jeans

He'd need to leave now if he wanted to see Amiyah before she fell asleep.

"You're agitated." Jasper observed from the tree he was leaning against.

A surge of defensiveness swept over Edward.

"No I'm not." He insisted falsely.

"Oh, you definitely are." He pushed himself away from the tree and with a good-natured smile nudged Edward's shoulder.

"Do you have somewhere to be, brother?" He asked in a teasing tone.

Emmett, finding the conversation Jasper was pulling from Edward far more entertaining than his tussle with a moose, swiftly snapped the animal's neck and ran towards his brothers.

"I bet it's with that human he's been hanging around with." Emmett added once he reached them. "She's got you down for a late night booty call, huh? The virgin Eddie is finally getting some!"

He knew that his brother was jesting. Emmett never seized an opportunity to tease Edward about his celibacy. Normally he'd shake it off, Emmett's words were just that to him; words, and they'd never truly gotten any reaction out of him, besides of course mild vexation. This time he couldn't help the wave of embarrassment that washed over him, nor the salacious scenarios his mind conjured involving the girl that had permanently fixed herself in his mind.

"Shut up..." He coughed gruffly, avoiding Jasper's amused, knowing gaze. "I just promised someone I'll meet up with them."

"At 11 pm?" Emmett asked unconvinced.

"Yes."

"Is it the human, Edward?" Jasper asked quizzically.

"Her name is Amiyah." Edward sighed, tired of hearing his siblings refer to her as 'his human.'

He watched Jasper and Emmett give each other shaky looks.

"What exactly does Amiyah know?" Jasper asked cautiously.

"Everything." He answered plainly.

Jasper and Emmett both sported looks of trepidation, yet Emmett was the first to speak up.

"Dude. Are you sure about this?"

"I've never felt this way about anyone before. It's- She makes me feel like I'm on fire, her very presence intoxicates me. Whenever I'm with her my whole body just-" His passionate rant was cut off by Emmett.

"Uh spare us the details, we know what happens when boys get happy."

Edward sent his brother a glare that would have petrified any other being, but Emmett was unperturbed and directed a large cheeky grin back to him.

"My point is," He stressed out. "I've never been more sure about anything in my life. Amiyah means everything to me and I trust her with my all, it's only fair that there's no deception between us."

"Edward, I hate to say it man, but you're whipped." Emmet threw his hands together and laughed.

"Emmett's right." Jasper chuckled along with the burly vampire.

"Thank you, Jasper." Edward drawled sarcastically.

"But hey, we're on your side, no matter what happens." Jasper declared, smiling at his brother softly.

Emmett nodded in agreement with Jasper and Edward felt his appreciation for his brothers increase in that very moment.

"Thank you." He said sincerely.

"Don't sweat it Ed." Emmett patted his brother on the back. "Jaz and I are gonna finish our dinner plans, we'd totally understand if you want to go hit up your dessert now." He gave Edward a suggestive wink, causing Jasper to erupt into snickers.

Edward gave both of his brother's impassive looks.

That appreciation had definitely dwindled down.

Her window and blinds were left open, allowing him to enter her room without any disturbance.

He waited a while before he announced his presence, staying perched* on the windowsill and studying every detail of the girl in front of him.

He watched fondly as she slowly bobbed her head to the music flowing from the small stereo near her bed. She was writing something down, most likely homework judging by the look of concentration lining her face.

Her lips were set into a small pout, something he found she did quite often when she'd be in deep concentration.

"Edward" She breathed once she became aware of his presence.

"Good evening, beautiful." He moved his way to her bed and gave her a chaste kiss on her cheek, Reuniting briefly with the warmth she gave off.

"You're such a cornball." She laughed warmly.

"I'm just honest."

She chuckled as she moved her books off of the bed.

"Yeah. Yeah okay." She gave him a large grin and inched closer to him.

"You're earlier than I expected… Couldn't get enough of me?" She jokingly boasted.

"I thought I was supposed to be the telepath?" He joked.

"You're just very easy to read." She said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I am?"

"For sure!"

"Okay then, Ms Walters." He said deciding to play along. "What do you reckon I'm thinking about right now?"

"Right now, right now?" She tried stalling, looking around the room aimlessly.

"Of course. Right now, right now. Forgive my ambiguity." He teased.

"Alright, smartass." She laughed.

"Well, Right now you're definitely in awe of your girlfriend's mad skills."

"I can't deny that." He replied after releasing a low chuckle.

"You're thinking about how lucky you are to have such a multi-talented girlfriend."

"Uh huh." He urged her to continue with a winsome smile.

Her dark eyes twinkled with a flicker of mischief and her mouth started to curve into a small smirk.

"Now you're thinking about how badly you want to kiss said girlfriend."

Edward smile faltered slightly, side tracked by Amiyah's 'prediction'.

"I'm not sure if that's-" She cut him off before he could finish by swiftly pressing her lips onto his.

Amiyah's kisses were always slow, but definitely not repressed. He could feel the raw passion that they both shared surging through their locked lips, no matter how brief the kiss would be.

Tonight however was different, dangerously so.

It began innocently enough; light kisses with zero intentions of crossing any boundaries. But then in between their kiss he felt her teeth lightly graze his bottom lip before she sensuously bit down on it.

He groaned at the pleasure that coursed through him, it only intensifying as her fingers gripped at his hair, pulling him closer. He gently pushed her backwards and laid her on the bed as he hovered over her.

A small voice whispered in his head that what they were doing was perilous, yet he ignored it, letting himself get consumed by his own desire.

He was getting lost in her, yet the voice was insistent, just as he could feel Amiyah's hand slowly guide his to her chest his conscience took control. He pulled himself away from her fiery lips and pushed himself back into the closest wall.

"Did I do something wrong?" Her voice was laced with insecurity but she looked nothing less like a confident seductress, her deep brown eyes staring at him with passionate desire.

Her thick hair was slightly dishevelled and her lips deliciously plump from their previous tryst.

God, she was so beautiful. And he-. He was so foolish!

"No." He shook his head, still plastered to the wall scared that if he made even the slightest move towards her he'd get pulled back into her fiery depths, this time lacking any control.

"No, we both got a little bit carried away."

She looked down to her lap, her thoughts shamelessly revealing that she wouldn't have minded going even further.

"Amiyah. We can't.. I can't let myself loose control with you." He tried to make her see reason

"Why not? I want to be with you, Edward, in every possible way."

He swallowed the venom rapidly collecting in his mouth. "I could hurt you." He lamented.

Her eyebrows knitted together and her mouth set into a small frown "I don't believe that."

"You put too much faith in me." He said numbly.

"Do I?" He watched her as she got up from her bed and stalked towards him.

"It's faith I do not have."

"Well then," she reached out to envelop her warm hand over his icy one, lacing their fingers together. Like two puzzle pieces fitting together. "I guess my faith will have to be enough for the both of us." She offered him a small smile, the dimples in her cheek deepening once he gave her hand a light squeeze in return.

He was unsure if it were even possible, but he felt his heart swell as he looked into Amiyah's eyes. He was a monster, had done terrible things. Never would he have imagined that he'd be allowed such perfection into his life.

"I love you… So much." He declared, staring into those beautiful dark eyes of hers.

He observed as they widened in disbelief, her sensuous mouth parting slightly.

"Really?" She whispered in silent excitement.

"Yes." He insisted.

She immediately threw her arms around him and began to shower his face with delicate, feather-like kisses.

"Oh, Edward." She whispered into his neck. "I-" A tiny yawn overtook her and Edward allowed himself to take note of how late it actually was. It was going on 1 am and it was a school night.

"You need to sleep." He finished for her.

"Sleep is for the weak." She said defiantly, her chin lifted and her shoulders squared.

He sent her a stern look and she knew that she'd lost. She pouted and relaxed her form.

"Fine, mother." She rolled her eyes playfully at him regrettably pulling away from their embrace and climbing into her small bed.

"You're not going to watch me sleep again, are you?" She asked once she was wrapped up in her pale blue sheets.

"No promises." He jested as he moved closer to her bed and took a seat on the edge of her mattress.

He watched as she tried to fight a smile between her pillows. "You're such a creep Edward Cullen."

"Only for you, Mon Chérie."

She snorts and shakes her head tiredly. "That doesn't make it any less creepier."

* 3 months have passed since the last chapter.

Yo. Sorry for the long wait!! I've been enrolled in university for the past month now so it's been pretty hectic. But I have recommitted myself to this book (even though there's probably like 3 chapters left.) So I promise that I will update before March ends.

•Also this is unedited because I'm extremely exhausted.

Review please?


	22. Chapter 21

_To be in love_

 _Is to touch with a lighter hand._

 _In yourself you stretch, you are well._

 _You look at things_

 _Through his eyes._

 _A cardinal is red._

 _A sky is blue._

 _Suddenly you know he knows too._

 _He is not there but_

 _You know you are tasting together_

 _The winter, or a light spring weather._

 _Gwendolyn Brooks- To be In love._

I wake up with my head burried deeply in my pillows, a ray of sunshine is shining onto my eyelids , already giving me a reason to be irritable.

'I hate mornings.'

"It's 12 pm." I hear an electrifying oice say before my eyes have even fully opened.

I turn my head languidly to look for the owner of the voice and see Edward standing near my doorway with his arms folded over his chest

"And?" I stretch and try to stifle a yawn

"You've been asleep for 11 hours." He says incredulously.

"Two more hours and I'd have broken my record." I say raspily.

He whizzes towards me and takes a seat next to me on my bed; inspecting my face intently. "You're not sick are you?" He asks mildly worried.

"I was tempted to call Carlise. Sleeping that much can't be normal."

"Ugh. You sound like my mother." I sighed while laying my head on his shoulder. "I just really like sleeping."

"Whatever happened to 'sleep is for the weak?"

I snort unattractively mid laugh. "Shut up."

I climb off of my bed and stretch more commitedly.

"I'm gonna take a shower, do you mind waiting downstairs?"

"Of course not." He gets up to start leaving my room.

After ive taken a quick shower I pull on the first clean sweater I find and pair it off with some jeans I find in my wardrobe.

I flounce downstairs and pour myself a generous bowl of cereal.

"What's the plan for today?" I call to Edward from the kitchen while I search for a spoon to eat my cereal with. He's sitting down on the couch in the lounge, reading some kind of magazine I'm sure he found on my doorstep but not looking too interested in what's in it at all.

I find a spoon tucked under a plate in the sink so I grab it and rinse it quickly.

"What do you think about meeting my family today?"

Suddenly he's behind me and I will myself not to jump in surprise or release the spoon from my grip.

"Seriously?" I sputter, looking down at the floating flakes in my bowl to avoid any eye contact.

I know he's not kidding around, Edward's not really one for jokes, but still I'm convinced he's fucking around with me, trying to raise my blood sugar or something.

I'd be lying if I said that his suggestion came as a huge shocker, Edward had hinted many times that he'd like me to meet his family, still the thought of actually doing it was a little bit spooky.

"Do you not want to?" His voice comes out nonchalant, but I hear a small tinge of disappointment which immediately makes me feel bad.

I completely disregard my bow of cereal and turn my head to face him.

"It's not that. It's just… don't you think they'll hate me?" I bite the inside of my cheek nervously. I can't help but feel like such a pussy for letting my insecurities peek out.

"They already love you." His lips lift up into an assuring smile.

I roll my eyes in disbelief. "Yeah right."

"They're excited to meet you. I can assure you my family won't show you any hostility."

"Your sister already does. The looks she sends me could make a blind man weep."

"Rose is just... overly protective. We don't have much experience with humans. We keep our distance from them for a reason; exposure could lead to a true death for us and Rose is afraid that us being together will bring about nothing but calamity for the whole family." He explains to me.

"Well… shit." I exclaim softly. Letting his words sink in.

"Don't worry. She'll warm up to you.. eventually"

"Well. Time isn't exactly on my side now is it?"

Edward stiffens and shifts his eyes away from me uncomfortably.

"Let's not talk about that." He grunted.

"Maybe we should." I say hesitantly. "We never really talk about what's going to happen when I'm gone."

"I don't see the point. We are happy right? Why waste our time on something so insignificant."

"Insignificant? You know, for someone who's graduated high school more than 100 times your logic is all the way fucked up. This definitely matters, I want to know how you feel about it, if if.. you'll be able to move on after I've gone."

I trail off, finding it hard to continue but I know that it had to be asked.

Edward scoffs, his eyes have darkened to a fiery amber and his thick brows have set into a defiant line across his forehead.

"Amiyah. I don't think you understand how much I love you. You're my life now and you want me to imagine an existence without you?" He sounds pained, which makes my chest feel it's own pain.

"I love you too Edward. But I won't be here forever, or even much longer and I just need to know that you won't do anything stupid when I'm gone."

There's a thick silence left between us. I start to think that he's ignoring me now but he debunks that by speaking up after.

"You love me?" He looks at me passionately.

"You know this already." I try not to let my frustration for him changing the subject show.

"You've never said the words out loud." He reveals.

Huh. I hadn't. I've said it in my head many times, but I had never said it to Edward. I didn't even get the chance to say it back to him last night.

Whoops. I say sheepishly with my cheeks growing uncomfortably hot.

Slowly. He moves closer to me and presses his lips against mine.

"I love you Amiyah." My heart does a little loop around itself.

"I love you too." I let the whisper escape from my lips.

My head clears and I'm reminded of what we were talking about "But we still need to talk about this."

"We will." He affirms simply.

"After I've met your family."

"Okay."

"Good."

I don't leave his embrace immediately. I linger in his arms and let his intoxicating scent dance around my senses. Neither of us seems willing to let go, probably for the same reasons.

After a while I reluctantly pull myself away from him and walk upstairs to change into something more appealing.

I keep my jeans on but take off the faded, oversized school sweater and throw it onto my bed. I find a cream, chiffon shirt hanging in my wardrobe and quickly pull it on.

By the time I'm back downstairs Edward is already waiting for me by the door, keys in his hands.

We drive in a soothing silence to his house until we finally reach the familiar lawn and my nerves skyrocket.

"Are you scared?" He asks me

Hell-fucking-yes!

"Nah." I answer instead. "I'm as cool as a cucumber."

"Relax, everything is going to be okay."

"Ready?" He asked, opening my door.

"Definitely not." I laughed nervously. "Let's go."

He took my hand and lead me to his porch. Sending me one last reassuring smile he opened the door.

It was hard to truly appreciate the beauty of his home the last time I was here, considering I was scared shitless and convinced that Edward was going to murder me, but now in the light of day I am able to see just how gorgeous the Cullen residence is.

It's very bright and open and every little detail just screams 'money'. From the lustrous wooden floors to the tall, crystal glass windows.

Waiting to greet us, standing just left to the door is Edward's whole family.

They all each look like an image of perfection. And although they're all dressed casually I can't help but feel severely under dressed.

I've seen Edward's siblings at school and had even met Carlise before, but this is my first time seeing his mother, Esmè. I'm immediately struck by her beauty, it only being reinforced by the radiant, warm smile she bore.

"Carlisle. Esme." Edward's voice broke the short silence, "This is Amiyah."

"You're very welcome, Amiyah."Carlisle's step is careful as he approaches me. He raises his hand and I step foward to shake it.

I wonder if he remembers the last time we spoke. I sincerely hope the hell not, I can vividly recall being a righteous bitch.

I hear Edward chuckle lowly behind me, I ignore him and smile genially back to Carlise.

"It's very nice to see you again Dr Cullen." I say politely, remembering my manners this time.

"Please," He grins at me winsomely. "Call me Carlise."

Esme smiles and steps foward. To my surprise she pulls me into a very unexpected, very swift hug.

"I'm sorry if I startled you," She says sincerely, her warm features forbidding me from feeling any type of hostility. "I'm glad to meet you, Edward has told us so much."

"He's told me a lot about you guys too. I'm happy I could come. I mean I'm extremely nervous," I chuckle awkwardly. "But I'm happy I'm here."

"We are happy you could come as well." Carlise smiles to me.

"You've met my siblings. Rose, Emmett Jasper and Alice." Edward pulls my hand back into his and gestures to his siblings with a nod of his head.

"Briefly... Hello." I say politely sending a small wave their way.

"Hi!" Alice steps foward and for the second time I am engulfed in a surprise hug.

"I was starting to doubt you would come. Emmett and I were betting on when Edward would introduce you to us."

I look over her shoulder and see Jasper looking over at his wife amusedly while Emmett stands beside him. His large frame almost taking up the room and his arm wrapped lazily over an irritable looking Rose.

He winks at me playfully and sports a ludic smirk.

"You made a bet with a psychic?" Edward probes tiredly.

"In his defence; you were changing your mind so much that I told him that it was fair game." Alice interjects. The twinkle in her eyes suggesting that she knew that it was anything but.

"If you waited another week I would've been one hundred dollars richer." Emmett shrugs.

"It's a pity money can't compensate for missing brain. cells." Edward mumbles quietly, but definitely loud enough for a whole family of vampires to hear.

Emmett looks like he's about to reply but Esmè beats him to the punch. "Boys, not today. We have company." She chides them sternly.

"Amiyah, why don't we move to the lounge. I'm sure you're getting tired of standing."

"Uh, sure." I look up questioningly at Edward when I feel his cool fingers slip from my own.

"You go ahead, I just need to have a quick chat with Carlise."

"Alright." I say hesitantly, my eyebrows slightly furrowing on their own accord.

Hopefully my awkward ass doesn't make things weird. It's a widely known fact that I have a tendency of doing that around people I've just met.

I watch Edward follow his father upstairs until my attention is pulled by Alice grabbing my hand gently and leading me into the lounge."

"Come.We can go through our old photo albums. Obviously there aren't any embarrassing baby pictures but the pictures we have are very fun to look at."

She was right. It was fun looking through their albums. For every photo we came across Alice or Esmè would give a brief backstory.

"What about this one." I ask, pointing to a desaturated photograph of Edward in a large, multi-coloured sweater, his hair is as unruly as ever yet not lacking it's usual appeal. He's scowling at whomever is taking the picture while he stands in front of a large, stone house.

"Oh, that one was taken in 1984. We were moving out of our house Maine and I wanted to take one last photo of everyone in front of the house. Edward of course refused, saying something about how it was frivolous to take a picture of a house we'd only return to in 50 years. So I took the picture in spite."

I start giggling after hearing the story.

"Edward's always been a major prick." Rosalie, whose sitting on the couch, wrapped up in Emmett's arms, spoke up for the first time.

She ignores the not so subtle, disapproving stare Esme sends her and continues pratlling on. "Is he his usual charming self with you?" She asks sarcastically.

I uncomfortably shift in my seat and start tappping my thumb against my jean clad thigh. "He's really sweet." I say tentatively.

She scoffs unconvinced. "Edward is a lot of things. Sweet is not one of them."

"Rose." Esmè warns her whilst Alice shrugs in silent agreement with her sister, Emmett lets out a loud bellow and Jasper's shoulders shake lightly while he laughs.

"Well he can be a bit condescending." I say honestly.

"But he's always a real gentleman with me." I add quickly in defence, feeling bad for throwing him under the bus in front of his family.

Almost immediately I turn around to see Edward walking down the stairs, his face unreadable.

"Hey." He greets me sauvely once he enters the lounge.

"Hey."

I walk up to him once I see everyone start to exit the room.

I look around confused then back to him, my face no doubt displaying my confusion. "Where's everyone going?" I ask him curiously.

"They're giving us some privacy." He pauses and gives me a small smirk. "Would you like a tour?"

"Sure." I nod.

I start following his footsteps up the stairs and along the passage way. I'm thinking that Edward is a pretty shitty tour guide when he neglects to actually show me anything and instead leads me to an open room.

He steps aside, motioning for me to enter first so I shuffle in the room hesitantly.

"Your room?" I question once he's inside behind me.

"Right."

The western wall is completely covered with shelf after schelf CDs. His room is better stocked

Than a music store. In the corner is a sophisticated-looking sound system. There is no bed, only a wide and inviting black leather sofa. His floor is covered with a thick golden carpet and his walls are hung with heavy fabric in a slightly darker shade.

I'm so taken by his room that I am startled by the sound of his voice near my ear.

"So. You think I'm condescending?" I can hear the smile in his voice.

"I've said this to you many times." I roll my eyes playfullyat him. "But hey, that's what I love about you, and couples are meant to love each other's flaws. I read that in a cosmopolitan when I was 12."

He laughs deeply, which I'm sure just made my heart skip a beat.

I walk to his music shelves and start browsing the multiple CDs he owns

"What flaws do you love about me?" I ask curiously, brushing my finger over the spine of a Jimi Hendrix CD.

"You're flawless." He says charmingly as he watches me from the wall he is leaning against.

I scoff unsatisfied. "Cut the crap! I'm curious." I grin at him.

"Well…You do swear a lot. I suppose I've come to love that about you."

"That is a quirk, not a flaw." I point out.

"My apologies. I'll have to come back to you one that one then." He smiles widely at me, giving my lips no choice but to lift into a smile on their own.

"Your family is really cool. I'm kind of jealous." I return to looking through his albums.

"Of the vampire lifestyle?" He asks. I turn around to see an odd look in his eyes.

"Uh no." I cough out. "No offence but fresh deer blood doesn't really seem as appealing as even the coldest pizza."

His eyes return to the light joy that had been present before. "None taken. Why would you be jealous then?"

"You're all so close, it's amazing."

He keeps quiet for a while and I move away from his music shelf to stare out his window. Looking down at the view of a winding river across the forest to the Olympic Mountain range.

"You should know," He starts off slowly.

"You will always have a place here. Esmè adores you, Alice believes that you two are best friends, and the others," he looks up at me and smirks widely. "Well they already like you more than they like me."

I smile halfheartedly back at him. Unable to stop the ringing of the word 'Always' in my head, knowing that he could hear it too.

Edward drops me back home shortly after. He escorts me to my front porch but doesn't enter through the door with me. He promises that he'll be back later; he needs to run an errand for his father.

I don't question the type of errands a teenage vampire has to run, instead I give him a chaste kiss on his cheek and tell him that I'll see him later.

Thinking that I'll just watch whatever is on Tv while I wait for Edward, I unlock the door and turn on the lights.

I feel my heart drop to my stomach when I see a slender woman sitting poisedly on my couch her hands typing furiously on an IPhone.

She looks up when she sees me enter and moves her bang out of her face to offer me a tight lipped smile.

"Alisha." She greets me with faux cheerfulness. "How wonderful it is to see you! Unfortunately, I've got some bad news..."

 **Unedited! I just finished writing this at 1 am here so I'm deeply sorry for all the mistakes I know are there. I think I've got about 2/3 more chapters left so I'm really gonna try and get my shit together and finish everything before June/July.** **Review please!!**


	23. Chapter 22

_Paradise in your eyes_

 _But I'm not yours and you're not mine_

 _You say you never want to go_

 _But if you run, you know I won't (follow)_

 _Alina Baraz- Yours_

Bad News. Those words on their own cause my palms to get clammy in the moderately chilly room. I steadily pull off my coat and walk cautiously towards the empty couch across from her. My knees give out as soon as I reach the chair and I plop down onto it.

''Uh, is that what brings you here?'' I swallow the small lump forming in my throat and try to appear calm.

Tyra sends me an intense stare; her mouth is tightly pressed and she looks unimpressed. ''Do relax, I'm not here to take you back. I know you've grown quite a close relationship with Dracula."

Her words in fact do not make me relax, they instead inflict the opposite effect and I'm left sweating.

''I don't know what you're talking about." I try to look away from her, knowing that the unease on my face would immediately give me away.

''Lying isn't your best trait, darling." She tells me unsympathetically. I release a shaky breath, unable to keep the charade going.

''Am I in trouble?" I stammer looking down at my lap and pinching my wrist.

Tyra lets out yet another exaggerated sigh. ''Look. I like you, Ashanti.''

''Amiyah.'' I correct her, rolling my eyes frustrated yet still refusing to meet her gaze.

"Whatever." 'She says uninterestedly. ''That's why I wanted to personally come and warn you.''

''Warn me?" I finally garner up the courage to look up at her. ''You're the one that told me that I should go out and 'kiss some fictional boys.''

She flips her hair behind her shoulder and purses her lips. ''And frankly you shouldn't have taken my advice. You weren't very careful pursuing this 'relationship' of yours either. I suppose I should have told you that your process would be monitored every week. One of our admins caught Edward Cullen sneaking into your room. Dexter of course had to take that information up to his supervisor, who then took it to my supervisor, and since Diane always had a stick up her butt she took it up with the board members now word is that the big bad CEO isn't too thrilled with you."

The CEO?'' I gulp, nervously. "You've never mentioned a CEO.''

"Well I'm mentioning him now. And let's just say Mr Carter isn't the most forgiving man.''

''So, I'm toast?'' I drop my gaze back into my lap.

''There's no sugar coating it, darling, so yes, you are toast. He's already given his right-hand man specific orders to bring you to him, and Mr Carter never bothers himself with subordinates.''

''What should I do?'' My voice comes out in a whimper, I can't help it I'm freaking out.

''I'd suggest laying low until your new agent is assigned to you. They'll probably brief you on what's going to happen and what you should and can do about it.''

''You're ditching me?'' I ask mildly hurt.

''Don't think of it like that. I'm just spreading my wings. I don't have the time nor the mental stability to take on your case so I gave your file to HR and they're dealing with the rest.'' She picks up her bag and start to stand up.

''Why are you here then? If you're no longer my agent?'' I ask her harshly.

''Routine check-up. I've got to tie up any loose ends before I pop this popsicle stand.''

Her hand moves up into the air and I can tell she's about to do that vanishing thing so I stop her.

'Wait… What do you think is going to happen? Do you think they'll let me stay?'' I let the vulnerability seep into my words, hoping that she'll take pity on me,

She looks at me blankly.

''I can't answer that. I wish I could but you'll find all that out in due time. All you can do now is hope for the best. Maybe he'll be more lenient if he sees that you're remorseful. So that means no more late-night rendezvous with Dracula, your safest bet would be cutting off all communications with him.''

I let Tyra's words float around in my head minutes after she's left. I know what I must do, I just really don't want to do it.

I slowly pull myself upstairs and start looking for the Motorola phone Edward had bought for me despite my objections to ever use the 'brick'.

I find it underneath a sweater on my vanity and after switching it on and scrolling through the saved contacts I click on Edward's name and dreadfully wait for him to answer.

''Hi.'' My voice comes out strained as I realise the finality of this phone call.

"Amiyah? Are you alright?'' I can almost imagine his brows furrowing and nose crinkling at my impromptu call.

I realise that the only way to go through with this is to lie through my teeth. ''Not really. I don't think you should come over tonight, I'm not feeling so great.''

There's silence on the other end and I wait with baited breath until he says. ''You're being absurd. I'm on my way.''

''No! Stop. I don't want to see you right now.'' I immediately regret my tone. Hostile and unattached, but I don't apologise. I can't.

''Alright,'' He says slowly. ''I'll come over tomorrow then.''

''You can't.'' I say this time with even more of an edge to my voice.

''Why not?''

''This is all just too much for me, Edward.'' The words taste acidic on my tongue so I spit them out as fast as I can. ''I need some space.''

There's more silence until; ''Did I do something wrong?'' His voice comes out thick and I can hear the vulnerability over the line.

My heart clenches and I feel the urge to play it off as some stupid joke and apologise profusely.

''It wouldn't matter if you did,'' I force myself to say. ''I'll tell you everything when the time is right but for now I just want to be left alone.''

I don't wait for him to answer, I remove the phone from my ear and press down on the bulky red button ending the call and initiating a weight to be dropped onto my chest.

I spend the rest of the week on edge. I don't know what to expect or who to expect it from and I miss Edward more and more every day that passes.

Between sulking, stuffing my face with copious amounts of peppermint ice-cream and watching trashy Lifetime shows, I felt like an absolute mess.

My pity-party is interrupted on Thursday when I hear a knock on my front door. Despite everything that Tyra told me and everything I told Edward I find myself hoping that it's him waiting for me on the other end.

My heart drops when I see Christine's slim figure on my doorstep, her backpack slung over her shoulder indicating that school had just been let out.

''Hey.'' I smile half-heartedly at her.

''Hey, I brought over your homework.'' She starts unzipping her backpack not before sending a concerned look towards my unkempt appearance.

''Thank you.'' I say when she hands me a folder of work knowing good and well that I was not going to touch it after she left.

''You're welcome.'' She mutters awkwardly, almost shuffling her toes and looking at me expectantly.

''Do you want to come in?'' I offer politely, moving out of the doorway to allow her entrance.

She follows me into the living room and takes a seat on one of the couches.

''So…You and Cullen.'' She starts, pulling no punches.

''What about us?'' I look at her suspiciously.

''Are you two still a thing?'' She asks unabashedly.

''What would make you think otherwise?''

''You know I don't pay any attention to rumours. But Lauren has been telling everyone that she heard that you and Edward broke up.''

I roll my eyes at the silly high school drama. ''Lauren's forever tripping. What makes you think she's serious this time?''

She looks at me like she's studying my reaction and I'm left staring at her in confusion.

''Amiyah, we're friends, right?''

''Yeah. Of course.''

''And as my friend, you'd tell me if another girl was trying to make a move on my boyfriend?''

''Uh, sure.'' I try not to look entirely lost so I smile assuredly at her.

''Jessica told me that I was sticking my nose in something that didn't involve me, but I can't just sit and watch it happen.''

I give in. ''Christine, what are you talking about?"

''I'm failing Biology.'' She confesses.

Is she on meds? ''Okay … do you want to borrow my notes?''

'" No. no. Mr Banner set up this buddy programme. Whenever a student fails his class he practically makes it mandatory for them to form study group with their lab partner, making it their lab partner's responsibility whether they pass or fail their next test.''

''So, like an unpaid tutor?''

''Exactly! Well I told Bella this a couple of weeks ago after Mike failed a test and I had to study with him over the weekend, and suddenly, I don't know she goes from having the third highest grade in our class to barely managing a scrape a C in a simple quiz.''

''Junior year's a bitch.'' I offer lamely while scratching my elbow.

''I just find it a bit too convenient how now that Bella's failing she gets to spend some time with Edward.''

''He's just helping her study, right? There's no big deal.'' I say with nonchalance despite the growing sinking feeling in my stomach.

''You haven't been seeing the stares she's been sending him then. It's like she wants to jump him even more than everyone else already does. And now that she gets to be alone with him, his girlfriend seemingly out of the picture I think that she might just do it.''

Splendid.

Christine taking notice of my silence speaks up once again, this time less brusquely.

''I thought I should be the one to tell you. You know, in case you wanted me to cut the bitch on your behalf.'' She says kindly.

''I appreciate it, but there's no need for any bitch cutting. Bella's good people. She'd never try to sabotage our friendship over a guy.'' I don't know whether I'm trying to convince her or me but it doesn't work.

Christine gives a side eye that leaves me unreasonably insecure. ''If you believe that.'' She commented.

''I do.'' I say with mock conviction.

I didn't.

The rest of the night I spend mulling over mental images of worst case scenarios, and so when I awaken I make the spontaneous decision to pay a quick visit to Forks High.

I still don't have my bike and since I've overslept I can't catch a ride from anyone I know So my only option is walking nearly '2 miles in the light rain to the high school

I'm a slow walker so by the time I reach the school grounds I'm sure an hour has passed and I've developed hypothermia in my ungloved hands.

I look down at my wrist watch and see that there's 20 minutes left until lunch break is over. Christine told me that they had been meeting every day at lunch in Mr Banner's classroom. I waste no time in acknowledging the security guard dozing off by the entrance. I pull off my damp scarf from around my neck and grip it in my hand as I power walk towards the classroom.

I try my best to avoid any loitering students in the hallways and go out of my way to throw myself against the nearest wall whenever I see a teacher walking in my direction.

I don't know why I'm acting like I'm in a bad spy movie. The Mission Impossible theme song is even playing on loop in my head. Maybe it's the thrill of sneaking (if you could even call it that) into school hours after first period, or maybe it's because the last movie I watched was a knock off Mr and Mrs Smith on Lifetime and the flu I can feel developing is targeting my sanity.

Either way when I'm close to the biology classroom I try to quiet my heavy footsteps to listen for any shouts of duress, when I hear nothing but silence I'm hardly relieved so I quicken my footsteps until I reach the door at the end of the hallway.

It's shut but I allow myself to peep through the blurred glass film. I don't see much at first, but then two figures close to the windows come into focus.

Edward's lean frame is unmissable yet all the while unbelievable to see locked in the embrace of a smaller, feminine body. The girl's back is turned to me but her long chestnut hair confirms that it is Bella who has her lips smushed against my boyfriend's.

A sharp pang of betrayal pierces my chest and then I'm met with anger. Just as I'm about to kick the door open and barrel into there like a wronged woman on Jerry Springer it hits me. I'm not the wronged woman. I'm the homewrecker.

Although the prospect of making Bella 'catch these hands' seems beyond sweet, I push my anger below the surface and ready myself to calmly walk into the room to get the answers I need.

Maybe this is all just some big misunderstanding. I try to convince myself as my hand lays lamely on the doorknob.

I twist the doorknob and push open the door but I don't enter the room. A hand roughly pulls me back by my shoulder before I can step my one foot into the class.

I turn around, ready to shove whoever has their hand resting on my shoulder but I'm blindsided by two large fingers tapping my forehead harshly causing my eyes to involuntarily shut and my consciousness to rapidly fade out.


	24. Chapter 23

_Suns may set, and suns may rise again:_

 _but when our brief light has set,_

 _night is one long everlasting sleep_

 _Let's Live And Love: To Lesbia - by Gaius Valerius Catullus_

A light is being shone onto my face. Irritably, with my eyes still closed I try to move my head blindly away from the source. Unfortunately, that doesn't work as the light follows my head's movement. Groggily I peel my eyes open only to be met with someone shining their phone's flash light onto me.

Just as quickly as my eyes open the flash light is turned off and I'm left blinking rapidly trying to regain my bearings. I'm lying on a couch that's far too comfortable to be my own. My eyes lazily glide to the floor. My mind recognizes that the plush carpet that covers the ground is unfamiliar, but my body feels too heavy to react strongly enough.

''Good, you're awake.'' My eyes flit from the ground to the voice. A tall, dark-skinned guy, who looks to be probably a few years older than me is leaning against the timber wall directly before me holding a smartphone between his hands.

''Who the fuck are you?'' I can't control the shake in my tone as I stare him in trepidation.

"My name's Elliot. there's no need to panic-."

''Where the fuck am I?'' Ignoring his words, I quickly rise and look at my surroundings. My eyes bounce off the bare wooden walls. There's a large screen TV mounted on the wall that's playing muted infomercials.

As I stare at the stranger after taking in the unfamiliar surroundings I come to one conclusion

''You've kidnapped me.'' I state rather than ask.

He scoffs. ''Tyra was right, you are very presumptuous.''

At the mention of Tyra's name, it dawns on me that this must be the person that she told me to expect, this revelation, however, does not make me feel any less hostile towards the situation.

''Oh, excuse me for thinking that getting abducted and being held against one's will wasn't the very definition of getting kidnapped.''

''Hey, it's not like this is an ideal situation for me either, but if my boss tells me to do something I got to do it.'' He shrugs, plops himself down on a recliner that looks like it's seen better days, pulls out his cell phone and proceeds to play a very loud game of Candy Crush.

I pull the sleeves of my shirt over my wrists at an attempt to fight the chill that just creeped down my skin at the memory of Tyra telling me that Mr Carter was not somebody to be messed with. ''Your boss? Mr Carter?'' I ask, trying my best to sound indifferent.

He looks up from his phone and sends me a grating smile. ''So, you're not just a pretty face.'' He says sarcastically.

This motherfu-

''Where is he then?'' I ask between clenched teeth.

''He's got some personal things to sort through. Don't worry he'll be here soon.'' He mumbles, focused intently on his phone.

I try to keep my breathing under control as sheer frustration grows within me.

So, I was snatched seconds away from finding out whether or not I needed to open a can of whoop ass (which, considering my physical strength, probably would not go so well) and the big, scary, apparently no-nonsense boss isn't even here?

I wait before answering, counting to ten in my head to avoid saying anything rash.

''Tell me why you're keeping me here now? Why not wait until Mr Carter gets his shit together before abducting me?'' I ask passively.

''I don't know. I guess Michael doesn't think that Forks is the safest place to let you stay''

My eye twitches at the logic he's using. ''But that makes no sense, I was abandoned there for nearly 6 months. Is it because of Ed-.'' I'm cut off from what was about to be a very heated rant by Elliot slamming his phone down onto his lap and looking back at me in exasperation.

''Look, princess; I'm only getting paid to babysit. I don't sweat the deets.'' He says with an excessive eye roll.

''Well then, what about the trial? Tyra didn't update me the last time she saw me."

''What trial?'' He looks confused, which makes me confused. Tyra couldn't keep quiet about how the trial had been causing so much disrupt, surely the boss's assistant, or whatever the hell he is, should know exactly what I'm talking about.

"'The one involving one of the facilitators and a hobbit?'' My explanation does not lift his furrowed brows so I elaborate even further. ''The trial that kept me in Forks for months longer than intended.'' I say slowly, closely inspecting his perplexed expression.

Realization quickly dawns on his face while suspicion grows with me. ''Right. Well Michael has that under control.'' He averts his gaze to something on the wall behind me.

I don't believe him even for a second.

''Really? What happened?'' I question, crossing my arms over my chest.

He waved his hand. ''Unimportant.'' He says simply.

'My teeth clench so tightly my jaw begins to ache.

''Can you give me any useful information? If I'm going to be kept here against my will then I think I deserve proper answers.''

''It's not my job to provide you with intel or to answer your questions. My job is to watch over you and to make sure you don't try to run away. So, if you could graciously quit your bitching it will really make the next few days a little less hellish.

''Hold up. Days? That's bull-! ''

Elliot hold his hand up to silence me. ''There you go again, bitching'' He sends me an irritated glance before picking his phone up to resume his game.

''You're an asshole.'' I snarl, slumping back into the couch.

True to his word, days pass without any word or show from Mr Carter and I quickly begin to become restless.

''What are you doing?"

I look up to the imposing figure of Elliot, standing in front of me while I'm sitting in the closet eating a snickers bar.

''Nothing.''

His dark brow lifts in contempt. He already knows. This was the fifth time he had caught me in here.

''It's not going to work you know.'' He tells me plainly ''You need administrative access- ''

''In order to travel through worlds.'' I finish for him with an audible sigh. ''I know you've said it a hundred times.''

He looks down at me like I'm a senseless child who's stuck their head in a toilet bowl. ''And yet here you are. Your tenacity truly is honourable.'' He says with a hand over his chest, sarcasm dripping off each word.

''Fuck off,'' I mumble, pulling myself from the ground and crumpling the chocolate wrapper in my hand. ''I just want to go home.''

''And you will. After Michael speaks to you.'' He turns around and starts walking away from me.

I follow him into the kitchen where he begins to make himself a cup of hot chocolate. Elliot hasn't spoken much about the absentee boss, Michael Carter since I got here and I desperately want to know more.

''Is that all he wants to do? Speak to me'' I ask him while I place my hand on the granite countertop. '''Tyra told me that I was toast… I thought there'd be more to it.''

I watch with distaste as Elliot adds several heaped spoons of sugar to the already sweetened cup. For such a bitter, bitter man he sure likes his sugar.

''Don't get me wrong, you're definitely in deep shit.'' He says flippantly, taking a gulp from the cup. ''Courting a character is level 9 offence. If you were anyone else you would've had your memory wiped along with being terminated without a severance pack.''

I squint at him with unease. ''Why hasn't that happened then?''

He snickered into his cup before taking another sip. ''If you're eager then I'm sure it can be arranged."'

I shake my head, I'm not trying to create a shit-storm for myself. ''I don't- that's not what I want. I'm just confused. You said if I was anyone else… what makes me different from the others?''

''It must be that sparkling personality of yours.'' He walks away from me again, this time to sit down on the couch in the living room and to focus his attention to the TV that had been playing in the background.

I don't bother trying to pry anything else out of Elliot. I realized quickly enough that he's a grade A ass that won't give me the answers I ask for even if I beg.

''I'm going to bed.'' I say to him stoically, already walking to the room that I'd been sleeping in for the past days.

Sleep is my only refuge. It provides me with a temporary relief from the constant stone-cold ache in my chest. At least in my dreams I can pretend that I'm still with Edward. If I'm lucky, right before I wake I can still feel the ghostly chill of his lips against my temple.

I try not to think about him too much. It hurts knowing that I'd probably never see him again. But it's hard, I can't stop thinking about him, no matter how hard I try to.

I wish I could see him one last time. I wish I could hear him say that he loved me one last time. I wish we had more time together. The pain in my chest intensifies as more and more thoughts flood through my mind. I take a deep breath in and hold it shortly, I release it evenly and push my hair away from my forehead.

The pain has dulled back to the uncomfortable, yet bearable tightness, so I allow myself to open the door to the room.

I enter the pink room in a daze. Out of all the rooms in the cabin this is by far the most lived in.

It's quite obvious that it belonged to a little girl. There are dolls and children's book stacked on a shelf in a corner and everything from the bed to the curtains is adorned in a shade of pink.

I feel my lips start to dry under the slight chill in the room. Reaching in my back jean pocket for my Chapstick, I wince when it slips out of my fingers.

I watch in vexation as it starts to roll underneath the bed. Huffing, I get on my hands and knees to retrieve it. I stick my right arm beneath the base and blindly feel around for the small cylindrical tube.

My hand lands on something that feels like a metal box. Curiosity having the best of me, I pull it out and see that it's a timeworn cookie tin with a thin film of dust over the lid.

Not thinking too much about It, I pull off the top and start rummaging through the contents.

There looks to be nothing special inside, there are a few animal hair clips and what looks like a macaroni necklace amongst many other child-friendly knick-knacks. Just as I'm about to push the tin to the side, a photo catches my eye.

I peer at the photo closely, floored by the familiarity of it.

It's a picture of me at the beach as a toddler, I'm grinning at the camera toothily with an ice-cream cone dripping down my hand. A younger, happier version of my mother is crouched beside me, captured in mid-laugh. I've seen this picture before. It's framed and hangs from my mother's bedroom wall. The picture in my hand is identical to the one at home, save for the man that's crouched on the other side of me.

I've never seen this man before, but I can't help but feel like I know him from somewhere. He has dark skin and kind eyes. He has his arms around toddler me and smiles just as widely at the camera as my mother and me.

I stare in confusion at the man in the picture, my mind feels like is racing as it tries to piece together the puzzle.

Who is he?

I look up after hearing a swoosh and see an older version of the man from the picture appear out of thin air.

He's wearing a crisp suit over his broad frame and exudes power from his stance alone, his eyes however hold an emotion I can't quite decipher, especially when it is directed towards me.

''Amiyah.'' My name comes out like a whisper from his lips.

I jerk back when I notice him slowly moving towards me

''Who are you?'' I demand. My heart feels like it could jump out of my chest any second.

''I'm,'' He pauses and stares at me with that look in his eyes again. ''I'm your father.''

 **I really feel like this chapter is terrible, which sucks because it's the last one. Yup This is the last chapter of Imperceptible. I promise that I will update it (someday) so that it's not complete trash. I know there may be a lot of questions so just reviewor pm me and I'll try to answer them. It took me about 2 weeks to write this chapter because I kept on re-writing it. I guess my mind was all over the place.**

 **Book 2 will hopefully be posted in the next few days. I'm working on it right now and when it's ready I'll give you the heads up in this book.**

 **Thank you for all of the support. You have no idea how much I appreciate it all. Honestly, every review, follow and favorite is what drives me to continue.**

 **Please review? Even if you hated it I'd like the feedback. See you soon!**


	25. UPDATE

Okay so, the main reason why I haven't posted book 2 yet is because I'm way too unhappy to write. I'm really hating university, it's a lot of pressure and I feel so isolated. Each time I sit down to write a chapter a just feel a block... And it's not writer's block, I love writing this story and I still have a lot of ideas, I guess it's an emotional block... if that makes any sense.

I don't like making promises, mainly because I always find a way to break them, but this one I know I'll definitely keep. My last exam is on the 7th of November and after that I'm done with school until February. Hopefully with the pressures of university off me I'll have had released 3 new chapters in the week that follows. I already have drafts for the 3 chapters, and even a cover for book 2, but currently I have no motivation to edit them.

Thank you all once again for all of the support you give this story. Every follow, favorite and review really makes my day, especially when my days have been just overall crappy. I know I say it a lot but I really do appreciate every single one of you.


	26. Book 2

Hey guys! I just posted book 2. It's called Transcendence and it can be found on my profile. I would love some feedback and i hope you enjoy it. Happy Holidays!

id:13154599


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